Systems and methods for carbon black production with a gas turbine engine having exhaust gas recirculation

ABSTRACT

A gas turbine system includes a turbine combustor, a turbine, an exhaust gas compressor, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, a carbon black recovery system, and a carbon black production controller. The carbon black production controller monitors data corresponding to a parameter of the carbon black. The carbon black production controller is also configured to adjust, based on the data, the fuel provided to the turbine combustor while maintaining a ratio of the fuel to the oxidant within a predetermined range to adjust the parameter of the carbon black.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/113,308, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CARBON BLACK PRODUCTION WITH A GAS TURBINE ENGINE HAVING EXHAUST GAS RECIRCULATION,” filed on Feb. 6, 2015, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to gas turbine engines, and more specifically, to producing carbon black with gas turbines having exhaust gas recirculation.

Gas turbine engines are used in a wide variety of applications, such as power generation, aircraft, and various machinery. Gas turbine engines generally combust a fuel with an oxidant (e.g., air) in a combustor section to generate hot combustion gases, which then drive one or more turbine stages of a turbine section. In turn, the turbine section drives one or more compressor stages of a compressor section, thereby compressing oxidant for intake into the combustor section along with the fuel. Again, the fuel and oxidant mix in the combustor section, and then combust to produce the hot combustion gases. In some situations, operation of the gas turbine engine may produce various types and forms of by-products. Accordingly, it may be beneficial to provide systems and methods for controlling the production of the by-products and for controlling the removal of the by-products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the originally claimed invention are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but rather these embodiments are intended only to provide a brief summary of possible forms of the invention. Indeed, the invention may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below.

In a first embodiment, a gas turbine system having a turbine combustor, a turbine, an exhaust gas compressor, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, a carbon black recovery system, and a controller is provided. The turbine combustor configured to combust an oxidant and a fuel to produce combustion products. The turbine is driven by the combustion products from the turbine combustor. The exhaust gas compressor driven by the turbine via a shaft, and the exhaust gas compressor is configured to compress and supply an exhaust gas to the turbine combustor as an exhaust gas diluent. The exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system is configured to recirculate the exhaust gas along an exhaust recirculation path from the turbine to the exhaust gas compressor. The carbon black recovery system disposed within the EGR system along the exhaust recirculation path, and is configured to extract carbon black from the exhaust gas to produce a carbon black supply. The controller is configured to monitor and control operating parameters of the gas turbine system. The controller includes one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine readable media collectively storing one or more sets of instructions and one or more processing devices configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to monitor data corresponding to a parameter of the carbon black. The one or more processing devices are also configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to adjust, based on the data, the fuel provided to the turbine combustor while maintaining a ratio of the fuel to the oxidant within a predetermined range to adjust the parameter of the carbon black.

In a second embodiment, a gas turbine system having a turbine combustor, a turbine, an exhaust gas compressor, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, a carbon black recovery system, and a controller is provided. The turbine combustor configured to combust an oxidant and a fuel to produce combustion products. The turbine is driven by the combustion products from the turbine combustor. The exhaust gas compressor driven by the turbine via a shaft, and the exhaust gas compressor is configured to compress and supply an exhaust gas to the turbine combustor as an exhaust gas diluent. The exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system is configured to recirculate the exhaust gas along an exhaust recirculation path from the turbine to the exhaust gas compressor. The carbon black recovery system disposed along the exhaust recirculation path, and the carbon black recovery system is configured to extract carbon black from the exhaust gas to produce a carbon black supply. The controller is configured to monitor and control operating parameters of the gas turbine system. The controller includes one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine readable media collectively storing one or more sets of instructions and one or more processing devices configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to monitor data corresponding to a parameter of the carbon black. The one or more sets of instructions and one or more processing devices are also configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to adjust, based on the data, a composition of the fuel provided to the turbine combustor while maintaining a ratio of the new composition of fuel to the oxidant within a predetermined range to adjust the parameter of the carbon black.

In a third embodiment, a method is provided. The method includes combusting a fuel and an oxidant to generate combustion products. The method also includes driving a turbine with the combustion products and discharging an exhaust gas. The method also includes extracting a supply of a carbon black from the exhaust gas to generate a clean exhaust gas and recirculating and compressing the clean exhaust gas. The method also includes combusting the clean exhaust gas. The combusting includes using the clean exhaust gas as an exhaust gas diluent. The method also includes monitoring data corresponding to a parameter of the carbon black and adjusting a fuel flow rate and an oxidant flow rate while maintaining a ratio of the fuel to the oxidant within a predetermined range to adjust the parameter of the carbon black.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an embodiment of a system having a turbine-based service system coupled to a hydrocarbon production system;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an embodiment of the system of FIG. 1, further illustrating a control system and a combined cycle system;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an embodiment of the system of FIGS. 1 and 2, further illustrating details of a gas turbine engine, exhaust gas supply system, and exhaust gas processing system;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a process for operating the system of FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an embodiment a carbon black production controller for controlling flow intakes to the gas turbine engine of FIG. 3, and for controlling a carbon black recovery system disposed within the exhaust gas processing system of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an embodiment of the carbon black recovery system of FIG. 5, further illustrating a plurality of filters and a hopper configured to collect a carbon black supply;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a process for producing and recovering a quantity of the carbon black supply of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a process for producing and recovering a particular particle size of the carbon black supply of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a process for operating the carbon black production controller and the carbon black recovery system of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

Detailed example embodiments are disclosed herein. However, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are merely representative for purposes of describing example embodiments. Embodiments of the present invention may, however, be embodied in many alternate forms, and should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein.

Accordingly, while example embodiments are capable of various modifications and alternative forms, embodiments thereof are illustrated by way of example in the figures and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit example embodiments to the particular forms disclosed, but to the contrary, example embodiments are to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention.

The terminology used herein is for describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes” and/or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Although the terms first, second, primary, secondary, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, but not limiting to, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any, and all, combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Certain terminology may be used herein for the convenience of the reader only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the scope of the invention. For example, words such as “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “front”, “rear”, “top”, “bottom”, “horizontal”, “vertical”, “upstream”, “downstream”, “fore”, “aft”, and the like; merely describe the configuration shown in the figures. Indeed, the element or elements of an embodiment of the present invention may be oriented in any direction and the terminology, therefore, should be understood as encompassing such variations unless specified otherwise.

As discussed in detail below, the disclosed embodiments relate generally to gas turbine systems with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), and particularly stoichiometric operation of the gas turbine systems using EGR. For example, the gas turbine systems may be configured to recirculate the exhaust gas along an exhaust recirculation path, stoichiometrically combust fuel and oxidant along with at least some of the recirculated exhaust gas, and capture the exhaust gas for use in various target systems. The recirculation of the exhaust gas along with stoichiometric combustion may help to increase the concentration level of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the exhaust gas, which can then be post treated to separate and purify the CO₂ and nitrogen (N₂) for use in various target systems. The gas turbine systems also may employ various exhaust gas processing (e.g., heat recovery, catalyst reactions, etc.) along the exhaust recirculation path, thereby increasing the concentration level of CO₂, reducing concentration levels of other emissions (e.g., carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and unburnt hydrocarbons), and increasing energy recovery (e.g., with heat recovery units).

Certain embodiments of a stoichiometric exhaust gas recirculation (SEGR) gas turbine system, as described below, may supply the oxidant and the fuel into a combustion chamber from a head end portion of a combustor, and separately supply an inert gas (e.g., exhaust gas) to the combustor at an opposite turbine end portion of the combustor. The exhaust gas may be utilized to cool the combustor liner and combustion gases within the combustion chamber. As noted above, in certain embodiments, the gas turbine system may be configured to stoichiometrically combust a substantially stoichiometric ratio of a fuel and oxidant. In particular, stoichiometric combustion generally involves consuming substantially all of the fuel and oxidant in the combustion reaction, such that the products of combustion are substantially or entirely free of unburnt fuel and oxidant. One measure of stoichiometric combustion is the equivalence ratio, or phi (Φ), which is the ratio of the actual fuel/oxidant ratio relative to the stoichiometric fuel/oxidant ratio. An equivalence ratio of greater than 1.0 results in a fuel-rich combustion of the fuel and oxidant, whereas an equivalence ratio of less than 1.0 results in a fuel-lean combustion of the fuel and oxidant. In contrast, an equivalence ratio of 1.0 results in combustion that is neither fuel-rich nor fuel-lean, thereby substantially consuming all of the fuel and oxidant in the combustion reaction. In context of the disclosed embodiments, the term stoichiometric or substantially stoichiometric may refer to an equivalence ratio of approximately 0.95 to approximately 1.05. However, the disclosed embodiments may also include an equivalence ratio of 1.0 plus or minus 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, or more.

Indeed, a number of benefits may be realized by utilizing the recirculated exhaust gas within the EGR gas turbine system in accordance with the present disclosure, including increased time-in-operation for various components, wider operating ranges for various components due to enhanced cooling capabilities, and so on. Such embodiments are described in further detail below, with the general components of the EGR gas turbine system first being introduced, followed by specific examples of the manner in which the EGR gas turbine system may be utilized for carbon black production.

The disclosed embodiments generally relate to controlling operating parameters of the EGR gas turbine system (e.g., a fuel composition or an equivalence ratio) to produce and recover aciniform carbon, also referred to as “carbon black.” Specifically, when the EGR gas turbine system operates in a substantially stoichiometric combustion process, carbon black may be produced as a by-product within the exhaust gas. Further, as the exhaust gas is recirculated along an exhaust recirculation path, the solid particulates (e.g., corrosion products, carbon black) may be removed from the exhaust gas before the exhaust gas is re-introduced into the gas turbine engine. Indeed, it may be beneficial to filter the carbon black, corrosion products, or other desired solids from the exhaust gas to increase efficiency and reduce wear and tear of the gas turbine system and process.

In certain embodiments, the production amount (e.g., quantity or rate) and/or the physical characteristics (e.g., particle size or shape) of the carbon black may be controlled to produce a desired quantity of carbon black having desired physical characteristics. For example, in certain embodiments, a controller may adjust the equivalence ratio of one or more combustors of the EGR gas turbine system of the fuel provided to the EGR gas turbine system to produce and recover a particular quantity of carbon black. For example, increasing the equivalence ratio while still operating within the range for stoichiometric combustion (e.g., equivalence ratio of approximately 0.95 to approximately 1.05) may produce a greater quantity of carbon black obtained/removed from the exhaust gas.

Further, in certain embodiments, a controller may adjust the fuel composition of the fuel provided to the EGR gas turbine system to produce and recover carbon black with a particular set of physical characteristics. For example, increasing the average hydrocarbon number of the fuel may increase the particle size of the carbon black supply filtered from the exhaust gas. That is, as the number of carbon atoms in each hydrocarbon molecule increases, so does the particle size of the carbon black. In some situations, the hydrocarbon number of the fuel composition may be increased by increasing the ratio of ethane and/or propane (which have 2 and 3 carbon atoms per molecule, respectively) to natural gas (which is primarily methane, having one carbon atom). Further, in certain embodiments, increasing the amount of hydrocarbons within the fuel may increase the amount and/or quantity of the carbon black supply produced. In this manner, the controller may be configured to control the production rate and/or the physical characteristics (e.g., particle size or shape) of the carbon black produced by the EGR gas turbine system and filtered from the exhaust gas. Further, in certain embodiments, the controller may be configured to receive feedback from one or more sensors disposed within the EGR gas turbine system and/or the exhaust recirculation path to monitor and regulate the quantity and/or the physical characteristics of the carbon black produced by the EGR gas turbine system and filtered from the exhaust gas. To help illustrate, FIGS. 1-4 depict example configurations of systems and methods that may employ the disclosed carbon black production technique.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an embodiment of a system 10 having a hydrocarbon production system 12 associated with a turbine-based service system 14. As discussed in further detail below, various embodiments of the turbine-based service system 14 are configured to provide various services, such as electrical power, mechanical power, and fluids (e.g., exhaust gas), to the hydrocarbon production system 12 to facilitate the production or retrieval of oil and/or gas. In the illustrated embodiment, the hydrocarbon production system 12 includes an oil/gas extraction system 16 and an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) system 18, which are coupled to a subterranean reservoir 20 (e.g., an oil, gas, or hydrocarbon reservoir). The oil/gas extraction system 16 includes a variety of surface equipment 22, such as a Christmas tree or production tree 24, coupled to an oil/gas well 26. Furthermore, the well 26 may include one or more tubulars 28 extending through a drilled bore 30 in the earth 32 to the subterranean reservoir 20. The tree 24 includes one or more valves, chokes, isolation sleeves, blowout preventers, and various flow control devices, which regulate pressures and control flows to and from the subterranean reservoir 20. While the tree 24 is generally used to control the flow of the production fluid (e.g., oil or gas) out of the subterranean reservoir 20, the EOR system 18 may increase the production of oil or gas by injecting one or more fluids into the subterranean reservoir 20.

Accordingly, the EOR system 18 may include a fluid injection system 34, which has one or more tubulars 36 extending through a bore 38 in the earth 32 to the subterranean reservoir 20. For example, the EOR system 18 may route one or more fluids 40, such as gas, steam, water, chemicals, or any combination thereof, into the fluid injection system 34. For example, as discussed in further detail below, the EOR system 18 may be coupled to the turbine-based service system 14, such that the system 14 routes an exhaust gas 42 (e.g., substantially or entirely free of oxygen) to the EOR system 18 for use as the injection fluid 40. The fluid injection system 34 routes the fluid 40 (e.g., the exhaust gas 42) through the one or more tubulars 36 into the subterranean reservoir 20, as indicated by arrows 44. The injection fluid 40 enters the subterranean reservoir 20 through the tubular 36 at an offset distance 46 away from the tubular 28 of the oil/gas well 26. Accordingly, the injection fluid 40 displaces the oil/gas 48 disposed in the subterranean reservoir 20, and drives the oil/gas 48 up through the one or more tubulars 28 of the hydrocarbon production system 12, as indicated by arrows 50. As discussed in further detail below, the injection fluid 40 may include the exhaust gas 42 originating from the turbine-based service system 14, which is able to generate the exhaust gas 42 on-site as needed by the hydrocarbon production system 12. In other words, the turbine-based system 14 may simultaneously generate one or more services (e.g., electrical power, mechanical power, steam, water (e.g., desalinated water), and exhaust gas (e.g., substantially free of oxygen)) for use by the hydrocarbon production system 12, thereby reducing or eliminating the reliance on external sources of such services.

In the illustrated embodiment, the turbine-based service system 14 includes a stoichiometric exhaust gas recirculation (SEGR) gas turbine system 52 and an exhaust gas (EG) processing system 54. The gas turbine system 52 may be configured to operate in a stoichiometric combustion mode of operation (e.g., a stoichiometric control mode) and a non-stoichiometric combustion mode of operation (e.g., a non-stoichiometric control mode), such as a fuel-lean control mode or a fuel-rich control mode. In the stoichiometric control mode, the combustion generally occurs in a substantially stoichiometric ratio of a fuel and oxidant, thereby resulting in substantially stoichiometric combustion. In particular, stoichiometric combustion generally involves consuming substantially all of the fuel and oxidant in the combustion reaction, such that the products of combustion are substantially or entirely free of unburnt fuel and oxidant. One measure of stoichiometric combustion is the equivalence ratio, or phi (Φ), which is the ratio of the actual fuel/oxidant ratio relative to the stoichiometric fuel/oxidant ratio. An equivalence ratio of greater than 1.0 results in a fuel-rich combustion of the fuel and oxidant, whereas an equivalence ratio of less than 1.0 results in a fuel-lean combustion of the fuel and oxidant. In contrast, an equivalence ratio of 1.0 results in combustion that is neither fuel-rich nor fuel-lean, thereby substantially consuming all of the fuel and oxidant in the combustion reaction. In context of the disclosed embodiments, the term stoichiometric or substantially stoichiometric may refer to an equivalence ratio of approximately 0.95 to approximately 1.05. However, the disclosed embodiments may also include an equivalence ratio of 1.0 plus or minus 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, or more. Again, the stoichiometric combustion of fuel and oxidant in the turbine-based service system 14 may result in products of combustion or exhaust gas (e.g., 42) with substantially no unburnt fuel or oxidant remaining. For example, the exhaust gas 42 may have less than 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 percent by volume of oxidant (e.g., oxygen), unburnt fuel or hydrocarbons (e.g., HC_(S)), nitrogen oxides (e.g., NO_(X)), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur oxides (e.g., SO_(X)), hydrogen, and other products of incomplete combustion. By further example, the exhaust gas 42 may have less than approximately 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, or 5000 parts per million by volume (ppmv) of oxidant (e.g., oxygen), unburnt fuel or hydrocarbons (e.g., HC_(S)), nitrogen oxides (e.g., NO_(X)), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur oxides (e.g., SO_(X)), hydrogen, and other products of incomplete combustion. However, the disclosed embodiments also may produce other ranges of residual fuel, oxidant, and other emissions levels in the exhaust gas 42. As used herein, the terms emissions, emissions levels, and emissions targets may refer to concentration levels of certain products of combustion (e.g., NO_(X), CO, SO_(X), O₂, N₂, H₂, HC_(S), etc.), which may be present in recirculated gas streams, vented gas streams (e.g., exhausted into the atmosphere), and gas streams used in various target systems (e.g., the hydrocarbon production system 12).

Although the SEGR gas turbine system 52 and the EG processing system 54 may include a variety of components in different embodiments, the illustrated EG processing system 54 includes a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) 56 and an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system 58, which receive and process an exhaust gas 60 originating from the SEGR gas turbine system 52. The HRSG 56 may include one or more heat exchangers, condensers, and various heat recovery equipment, which collectively function to transfer heat from the exhaust gas 60 to a stream of water, thereby generating steam 62. The steam 62 may be used in one or more steam turbines, the EOR system 18, or any other portion of the hydrocarbon production system 12. For example, the HRSG 56 may generate low pressure, medium pressure, and/or high pressure steam 62, which may be selectively applied to low, medium, and high pressure steam turbine stages, or different applications of the EOR system 18. In addition to the steam 62, a treated water 64, such as a desalinated water, may be generated by the HRSG 56, the EGR system 58, and/or another portion of the EG processing system 54 or the SEGR gas turbine system 52. The treated water 64 (e.g., desalinated water) may be particularly useful in areas with water shortages, such as inland or desert regions. The treated water 64 may be generated, at least in part, due to the large volume of air driving combustion of fuel within the SEGR gas turbine system 52. While the on-site generation of steam 62 and water 64 may be beneficial in many applications (including the hydrocarbon production system 12), the on-site generation of exhaust gas 42, 60 may be particularly beneficial for the EOR system 18, due to its low oxygen content, high pressure, and heat derived from the SEGR gas turbine system 52. Accordingly, the HRSG 56, the EGR system 58, and/or another portion of the EG processing system 54 may output or recirculate an exhaust gas 66 into the SEGR gas turbine system 52, while also routing the exhaust gas 42 to the EOR system 18 for use with the hydrocarbon production system 12. Likewise, the exhaust gas 42 may be extracted directly from the SEGR gas turbine system 52 (i.e., without passing through the EG processing system 54) for use in the EOR system 18 of the hydrocarbon production system 12.

The exhaust gas recirculation is handled by the EGR system 58 of the EG processing system 54. For example, the EGR system 58 includes one or more conduits, valves, blowers, exhaust gas treatment systems (e.g., filters, particulate removal units, gas separation units, gas purification units, heat exchangers, heat recovery units, moisture removal units, catalyst units, chemical injection units, or any combination thereof), and controls to recirculate the exhaust gas along an exhaust gas circulation path from an output (e.g., discharged exhaust gas 60) to an input (e.g., intake exhaust gas 66) of the SEGR gas turbine system 52. In the illustrated embodiment, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 intakes the exhaust gas 66 into a compressor section having one or more compressors, thereby compressing the exhaust gas 66 for use in a combustor section along with an intake of an oxidant 68 and one or more fuels 70. The oxidant 68 may include ambient air, pure oxygen, oxygen-enriched air, oxygen-reduced air, oxygen-nitrogen mixtures, or any suitable oxidant that facilitates combustion of the fuel 70. The fuel 70 may include one or more gas fuels, liquid fuels, or any combination thereof. For example, the fuel 70 may include natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), syngas, methane, ethane, propane, butane, naphtha, kerosene, diesel fuel, ethanol, methanol, biofuel, or any combination thereof.

The SEGR gas turbine system 52 mixes and combusts the exhaust gas 66, the oxidant 68, and the fuel 70 in the combustor section, thereby generating hot combustion gases or exhaust gas 60 to drive one or more turbine stages in a turbine section. In certain embodiments, each combustor in the combustor section includes one or more premix fuel nozzles, one or more diffusion fuel nozzles, or any combination thereof. For example, each premix fuel nozzle may be configured to mix the oxidant 68 and the fuel 70 internally within the fuel nozzle and/or partially upstream of the fuel nozzle, thereby injecting an oxidant-fuel mixture from the fuel nozzle into the combustion zone for a premixed combustion (e.g., a premixed flame). By further example, each diffusion fuel nozzle may be configured to isolate the flows of oxidant 68 and fuel 70 within the fuel nozzle, thereby separately injecting the oxidant 68 and the fuel 70 from the fuel nozzle into the combustion zone for diffusion combustion (e.g., a diffusion flame). In particular, the diffusion combustion provided by the diffusion fuel nozzles delays mixing of the oxidant 68 and the fuel 70 until the point of initial combustion, i.e., the flame region. In embodiments employing the diffusion fuel nozzles, the diffusion flame may provide increased flame stability, because the diffusion flame generally forms at the point of stoichiometry between the separate streams of oxidant 68 and fuel 70 (i.e., as the oxidant 68 and fuel 70 are mixing). In certain embodiments, one or more diluents (e.g., the exhaust gas 60, steam, nitrogen, or another inert gas) may be pre-mixed with the oxidant 68, the fuel 70, or both, in either the diffusion fuel nozzle or the premix fuel nozzle. In addition, one or more diluents (e.g., the exhaust gas 60, steam, nitrogen, or another inert gas) may be injected into the combustor at or downstream from the point of combustion within each combustor. The use of these diluents may help temper the flame (e.g., premix flame or diffusion flame), thereby helping to reduce NO_(X) emissions, such as nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). Regardless of the type of flame, the combustion produces hot combustion gases or exhaust gas 60 to drive one or more turbine stages. As each turbine stage is driven by the exhaust gas 60, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 generates a mechanical power 72 and/or an electrical power 74 (e.g., via an electrical generator). The system 52 also outputs the exhaust gas 60, and may further output water 64. Again, the water 64 may be a treated water, such as a desalinated water, which may be useful in a variety of applications on-site or off-site.

Exhaust extraction is also provided by the SEGR gas turbine system 52 using one or more extraction points 76. For example, the illustrated embodiment includes an exhaust gas (EG) supply system 78 having an exhaust gas (EG) extraction system 80 and an exhaust gas (EG) treatment system 82, which receive exhaust gas 42 from the extraction points 76, treat the exhaust gas 42, and then supply or distribute the exhaust gas 42 to various target systems. The target systems may include the EOR system 18 and/or other systems, such as a pipeline 86, a storage tank 88, or a carbon sequestration system 90. The EG extraction system 80 may include one or more conduits, valves, controls, and flow separations, which facilitate isolation of the exhaust gas 42 from the oxidant 68, the fuel 70, and other contaminants, while also controlling the temperature, pressure, and flow rate of the extracted exhaust gas 42. The EG treatment system 82 may include one or more heat exchangers (e.g., heat recovery units such as heat recovery steam generators, condensers, coolers, or heaters), catalyst systems (e.g., oxidation catalyst systems), particulate and/or water removal systems (e.g., gas dehydration units, inertial separators, coalescing filters, water impermeable filters, and other filters), chemical injection systems, solvent based treatment systems (e.g., absorbers, flash tanks, etc.), carbon capture systems, gas separation systems, gas purification systems, and/or a solvent based treatment system, exhaust gas compressors, any combination thereof. These subsystems of the EG treatment system 82 enable control of the temperature, pressure, flow rate, moisture content (e.g., amount of water removal), particulate content (e.g., amount of particulate removal), and gas composition (e.g., percentage of CO₂, N₂, etc.).

The extracted exhaust gas 42 is treated by one or more subsystems of the EG treatment system 82, depending on the target system. For example, the EG treatment system 82 may direct all or part of the exhaust gas 42 through a carbon capture system, a gas separation system, a gas purification system, and/or a solvent based treatment system, which is controlled to separate and purify a carbonaceous gas (e.g., carbon dioxide) 92 and/or nitrogen (N₂) 94 for use in the various target systems. For example, embodiments of the EG treatment system 82 may perform gas separation and purification to produce a plurality of different streams 95 of exhaust gas 42, such as a first stream 96, a second stream 97, and a third stream 98. The first stream 96 may have a first composition that is rich in carbon dioxide and/or lean in nitrogen (e.g., a CO₂ rich, N₂ lean stream). The second stream 97 may have a second composition that has intermediate concentration levels of carbon dioxide and/or nitrogen (e.g., intermediate concentration CO₂, N₂ stream). The third stream 98 may have a third composition that is lean in carbon dioxide and/or rich in nitrogen (e.g., a CO₂ lean, N₂ rich stream). Each stream 95 (e.g., 96, 97, and 98) may include a gas dehydration unit, a filter, a gas compressor, or any combination thereof, to facilitate delivery of the stream 95 to a target system. In certain embodiments, the CO₂ rich, N₂ lean stream 96 may have a CO₂ purity or concentration level of greater than approximately 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 96, 97, 98, or 99 percent by volume, and a N₂ purity or concentration level of less than approximately 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 percent by volume. In contrast, the CO₂ lean, N₂ rich stream 98 may have a CO₂ purity or concentration level of less than approximately 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 percent by volume, and an N₂ purity or concentration level of greater than approximately 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 96, 97, 98, or 99 percent by volume. The intermediate concentration CO₂, N₂ stream 97 may have a CO₂ purity or concentration level and/or a N₂ purity or concentration level of between approximately 30 to 70, 35 to 65, 40 to 60, or 45 to 55 percent by volume. Although the foregoing ranges are merely non-limiting examples, the CO₂ rich, N₂ lean stream 96 and the CO₂ lean, N₂ rich stream 98 may be particularly well suited for use with the EOR system 18 and the other systems 84. However, any of these rich, lean, or intermediate concentration CO₂ streams 95 may be used, alone or in various combinations, with the EOR system 18 and the other systems 84. For example, the EOR system 18 and the other systems 84 (e.g., the pipeline 86, storage tank 88, and the carbon sequestration system 90) each may receive one or more CO₂ rich, N₂ lean streams 96, one or more CO₂ lean, N₂ rich streams 98, one or more intermediate concentration CO₂, N₂ streams 97, and one or more untreated exhaust gas 42 streams (i.e., bypassing the EG treatment system 82).

The EG extraction system 80 extracts the exhaust gas 42 at one or more extraction points 76 along the compressor section, the combustor section, and/or the turbine section, such that the exhaust gas 42 may be used in the EOR system 18 and other systems 84 at suitable temperatures and pressures. The EG extraction system 80 and/or the EG treatment system 82 also may circulate fluid flows (e.g., exhaust gas 42) to and from the EG processing system 54. For example, a portion of the exhaust gas 42 passing through the EG processing system 54 may be extracted by the EG extraction system 80 for use in the EOR system 18 and the other systems 84. In certain embodiments, the EG supply system 78 and the EG processing system 54 may be independent or integral with one another, and thus may use independent or common subsystems. For example, the EG treatment system 82 may be used by both the EG supply system 78 and the EG processing system 54. Exhaust gas 42 extracted from the EG processing system 54 may undergo multiple stages of gas treatment, such as one or more stages of gas treatment in the EG processing system 54 followed by one or more additional stages of gas treatment in the EG treatment system 82.

At each extraction point 76, the extracted exhaust gas 42 may be substantially free of oxidant 68 and fuel 70 (e.g., unburnt fuel or hydrocarbons) due to substantially stoichiometric combustion and/or gas treatment in the EG processing system 54. Furthermore, depending on the target system, the extracted exhaust gas 42 may undergo further treatment in the EG treatment system 82 of the EG supply system 78, thereby further reducing any residual oxidant 68, fuel 70, or other undesirable products of combustion. For example, either before or after treatment in the EG treatment system 82, the extracted exhaust gas 42 may have less than 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 percent by volume of oxidant (e.g., oxygen), unburnt fuel or hydrocarbons (e.g., HC_(S)), nitrogen oxides (e.g., NO_(X)), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur oxides (e.g., SO_(X)), hydrogen, and other products of incomplete combustion. By further example, either before or after treatment in the EG treatment system 82, the extracted exhaust gas 42 may have less than approximately 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, or 5000 parts per million by volume (ppmv) of oxidant (e.g., oxygen), unburnt fuel or hydrocarbons (e.g., HC_(S)), nitrogen oxides (e.g., NO_(X)), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur oxides (e.g., SO_(X)), hydrogen, and other products of incomplete combustion. Thus, the exhaust gas 42 is particularly well suited for use with the EOR system 18.

The EGR operation of the turbine system 52 specifically enables the exhaust extraction at a multitude of locations 76. For example, the compressor section of the system 52 may be used to compress the exhaust gas 66 without any oxidant 68 (i.e., only compression of the exhaust gas 66), such that a substantially oxygen-free exhaust gas 42 may be extracted from the compressor section and/or the combustor section prior to entry of the oxidant 68 and the fuel 70. The extraction points 76 may be located at interstage ports between adjacent compressor stages, at ports along the compressor discharge casing, at ports along each combustor in the combustor section, or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the exhaust gas 66 may not mix with the oxidant 68 and fuel 70 until it reaches the head end portion and/or fuel nozzles of each combustor in the combustor section. Furthermore, one or more flow separators (e.g., walls, dividers, baffles, or the like) may be used to isolate the oxidant 68 and the fuel 70 from the extraction points 76. With these flow separators, the extraction points 76 may be disposed directly along a wall of each combustor in the combustor section.

Once the exhaust gas 66, oxidant 68, and fuel 70 flow through the head end portion (e.g., through fuel nozzles) into the combustion portion (e.g., combustion chamber) of each combustor, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 is controlled to provide a substantially stoichiometric combustion of the exhaust gas 66, oxidant 68, and fuel 70. For example, the system 52 may maintain an equivalence ratio of approximately 0.95 to approximately 1.05. As a result, the products of combustion of the mixture of exhaust gas 66, oxidant 68, and fuel 70 in each combustor is substantially free of oxygen and unburnt fuel. Thus, the products of combustion (or exhaust gas) may be extracted from the turbine section of the SEGR gas turbine system 52 for use as the exhaust gas 42 routed to the EOR system 18. Along the turbine section, the extraction points 76 may be located at any turbine stage, such as interstage ports between adjacent turbine stages. Thus, using any of the foregoing extraction points 76, the turbine-based service system 14 may generate, extract, and deliver the exhaust gas 42 to the hydrocarbon production system 12 (e.g., the EOR system 18) for use in the production of oil/gas 48 from the subterranean reservoir 20.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an embodiment of the system 10 of FIG. 1, illustrating a control system 100 coupled to the turbine-based service system 14 and the hydrocarbon production system 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the turbine-based service system 14 includes a combined cycle system 102, which includes the SEGR gas turbine system 52 as a topping cycle, a steam turbine 104 as a bottoming cycle, and the HRSG 56 to recover heat from the exhaust gas 60 to generate the steam 62 for driving the steam turbine 104. Again, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 receives, mixes, and stoichiometrically combusts the exhaust gas 66, the oxidant 68, and the fuel 70 (e.g., premix and/or diffusion flames), thereby producing the exhaust gas 60, the mechanical power 72, the electrical power 74, and/or the water 64. For example, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 may drive one or more loads or machinery 106, such as an electrical generator, an oxidant compressor (e.g., a main air compressor), a gear box, a pump, equipment of the hydrocarbon production system 12, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the machinery 106 may include other drives, such as electrical motors or steam turbines (e.g., the steam turbine 104), in tandem with the SEGR gas turbine system 52. Accordingly, an output of the machinery 106 driven by the SEGR gas turbines system 52 (and any additional drives) may include the mechanical power 72 and the electrical power 74. The mechanical power 72 and/or the electrical power 74 may be used on-site for powering the hydrocarbon production system 12, the electrical power 74 may be distributed to the power grid, or any combination thereof. The output of the machinery 106 also may include a compressed fluid, such as a compressed oxidant 68 (e.g., air or oxygen), for intake into the combustion section of the SEGR gas turbine system 52. Each of these outputs (e.g., the exhaust gas 60, the mechanical power 72, the electrical power 74, and/or the water 64) may be considered a service of the turbine-based service system 14.

The SEGR gas turbine system 52 produces the exhaust gas 42, 60, which may be substantially free of oxygen, and routes this exhaust gas 42, 60 to the EG processing system 54 and/or the EG supply system 78. The EG supply system 78 may treat and delivery the exhaust gas 42 (e.g., streams 95) to the hydrocarbon production system 12 and/or the other systems 84. As discussed above, the EG processing system 54 may include the HRSG 56 and the EGR system 58. The HRSG 56 may include one or more heat exchangers, condensers, and various heat recovery equipment, which may be used to recover or transfer heat from the exhaust gas 60 to water 108 to generate the steam 62 for driving the steam turbine 104. Similar to the SEGR gas turbine system 52, the steam turbine 104 may drive one or more loads or machinery 106, thereby generating the mechanical power 72 and the electrical power 74. In the illustrated embodiment, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 and the steam turbine 104 are arranged in tandem to drive the same machinery 106. However, in other embodiments, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 and the steam turbine 104 may separately drive different machinery 106 to independently generate mechanical power 72 and/or electrical power 74. As the steam turbine 104 is driven by the steam 62 from the HRSG 56, the steam 62 gradually decreases in temperature and pressure. Accordingly, the steam turbine 104 recirculates the used steam 62 and/or water 108 back into the HRSG 56 for additional steam generation via heat recovery from the exhaust gas 60. In addition to steam generation, the HRSG 56, the EGR system 58, and/or another portion of the EG processing system 54 may produce the water 64, the exhaust gas 42 for use with the hydrocarbon production system 12, and the exhaust gas 66 for use as an input into the SEGR gas turbine system 52. For example, the water 64 may be a treated water 64, such as a desalinated water for use in other applications. The desalinated water may be particularly useful in regions of low water availability. Regarding the exhaust gas 60, embodiments of the EG processing system 54 may be configured to recirculate the exhaust gas 60 through the EGR system 58 with or without passing the exhaust gas 60 through the HRSG 56.

In the illustrated embodiment, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 has an exhaust recirculation path 110, which extends from an exhaust outlet to an exhaust inlet of the system 52. Along the path 110, the exhaust gas 60 passes through the EG processing system 54, which includes the HRSG 56 and the EGR system 58 in the illustrated embodiment. The EGR system 58 may include one or more conduits, valves, blowers, gas treatment systems (e.g., filters, particulate removal units, gas separation units, gas purification units, heat exchangers, heat recovery units such as heat recovery steam generators, moisture removal units, catalyst units, chemical injection units, or any combination thereof) in series and/or parallel arrangements along the path 110. In other words, the EGR system 58 may include any flow control components, pressure control components, temperature control components, moisture control components, and gas composition control components along the exhaust recirculation path 110 between the exhaust outlet and the exhaust inlet of the system 52. Accordingly, in embodiments with the HRSG 56 along the path 110, the HRSG 56 may be considered a component of the EGR system 58. However, in certain embodiments, the HRSG 56 may be disposed along an exhaust path independent from the exhaust recirculation path 110. Regardless of whether the HRSG 56 is along a separate path or a common path with the EGR system 58, the HRSG 56 and the EGR system 58 intake the exhaust gas 60 and output either the recirculated exhaust gas 66, the exhaust gas 42 for use with the EG supply system 78 (e.g., for the hydrocarbon production system 12 and/or other systems 84), or another output of exhaust gas. Again, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 intakes, mixes, and stoichiometrically combusts the exhaust gas 66, the oxidant 68, and the fuel 70 (e.g., premixed and/or diffusion flames) to produce a substantially oxygen-free and fuel-free exhaust gas 60 for distribution to the EG processing system 54, the hydrocarbon production system 12, or other systems 84.

As noted above with reference to FIG. 1, the hydrocarbon production system 12 may include a variety of equipment to facilitate the recovery or production of oil/gas 48 from a subterranean reservoir 20 through an oil/gas well 26. For example, the hydrocarbon production system 12 may include the EOR system 18 having the fluid injection system 34. In the illustrated embodiment, the fluid injection system 34 includes an exhaust gas injection EOR system 112 and a steam injection EOR system 114. Although the fluid injection system 34 may receive fluids from a variety of sources, the illustrated embodiment may receive the exhaust gas 42 and the steam 62 from the turbine-based service system 14. The exhaust gas 42 and/or the steam 62 produced by the turbine-based service system 14 also may be routed to the hydrocarbon production system 12 for use in other oil/gas systems 116.

The quantity, quality, and flow of the exhaust gas 42 and/or the steam 62 may be controlled by the control system 100. The control system 100 may be dedicated entirely to the turbine-based service system 14, or the control system 100 may optionally also provide control (or at least some data to facilitate control) for the hydrocarbon production system 12 and/or other systems 84. In the illustrated embodiment, the control system 100 includes a controller 118 having a processor 120, a memory 122, a steam turbine control 124, a SEGR gas turbine system control 126, and a machinery control 128. The processor 120 may include a single processor or two or more redundant processors, such as triple redundant processors for control of the turbine-based service system 14. The memory 122 may include volatile and/or non-volatile memory. For example, the memory 122 may include one or more hard drives, flash memory, read-only memory, random access memory, or any combination thereof. The controls 124, 126, and 128 may include software and/or hardware controls. For example, the controls 124, 126, and 128 may include various instructions or code stored on the memory 122 and executable by the processor 120. The control 124 is configured to control operation of the steam turbine 104, the SEGR gas turbine system control 126 is configured to control the system 52, and the machinery control 128 is configured to control the machinery 106. Thus, the controller 118 (e.g., controls 124, 126, and 128) may be configured to coordinate various sub-systems of the turbine-based service system 14 to provide a suitable stream of the exhaust gas 42 to the hydrocarbon production system 12.

In certain embodiments of the control system 100, each element (e.g., system, subsystem, and component) illustrated in the drawings or described herein includes (e.g., directly within, upstream, or downstream of such element) one or more industrial control features, such as sensors and control devices, which are communicatively coupled with one another over an industrial control network along with the controller 118. For example, the control devices associated with each element may include a dedicated device controller (e.g., including a processor, memory, and control instructions), one or more actuators, valves, switches, and industrial control equipment, which enable control based on sensor feedback 130, control signals from the controller 118, control signals from a user, or any combination thereof. Thus, any of the control functionality described herein may be implemented with control instructions stored and/or executable by the controller 118, dedicated device controllers associated with each element, or a combination thereof.

In order to facilitate such control functionality, the control system 100 includes one or more sensors distributed throughout the system 10 to obtain the sensor feedback 130 for use in execution of the various controls, e.g., the controls 124, 126, and 128. For example, the sensor feedback 130 may be obtained from sensors distributed throughout the SEGR gas turbine system 52, the machinery 106, the EG processing system 54, the steam turbine 104, the hydrocarbon production system 12, or any other components throughout the turbine-based service system 14 or the hydrocarbon production system 12. For example, the sensor feedback 130 may include temperature feedback, pressure feedback, flow rate feedback, flame temperature feedback, combustion dynamics feedback, intake oxidant composition feedback, intake fuel composition feedback, exhaust composition feedback, the output level of mechanical power 72, the output level of electrical power 74, the output quantity of the exhaust gas 42, 60, the output quantity or quality of the water 64, or any combination thereof. For example, the sensor feedback 130 may include a composition of the exhaust gas 42, 60 to facilitate stoichiometric combustion in the SEGR gas turbine system 52. For example, the sensor feedback 130 may include feedback from one or more intake oxidant sensors along an oxidant supply path of the oxidant 68, one or more intake fuel sensors along a fuel supply path of the fuel 70, and one or more exhaust emissions sensors disposed along the exhaust recirculation path 110 and/or within the SEGR gas turbine system 52. The intake oxidant sensors, intake fuel sensors, and exhaust emissions sensors may include temperature sensors, pressure sensors, flow rate sensors, and composition sensors. The emissions sensors may includes sensors for nitrogen oxides (e.g., NO_(X) sensors), carbon oxides (e.g., CO sensors and CO₂ sensors), sulfur oxides (e.g., SO_(X) sensors), hydrogen (e.g., H₂ sensors), oxygen (e.g., O₂ sensors), unburnt hydrocarbons (e.g., HC sensors), or other products of incomplete combustion, or any combination thereof.

Using this feedback 130, the control system 100 may adjust (e.g., increase, decrease, or maintain) the intake flow of exhaust gas 66, oxidant 68, and/or fuel 70 into the SEGR gas turbine system 52 (among other operational parameters) to maintain the equivalence ratio within a suitable range, e.g., between approximately 0.95 to approximately 1.05, between approximately 0.95 to approximately 1.0, between approximately 1.0 to approximately 1.05, or substantially at 1.0. For example, the control system 100 may analyze the feedback 130 to monitor the exhaust emissions (e.g., concentration levels of nitrogen oxides, carbon oxides such as CO and CO₂, sulfur oxides, hydrogen, oxygen, unburnt hydrocarbons, and other products of incomplete combustion) and/or determine the equivalence ratio, and then control one or more components to adjust the exhaust emissions (e.g., concentration levels in the exhaust gas 42) and/or the equivalence ratio. The controlled components may include any of the components illustrated and described with reference to the drawings, including but not limited to, valves along the supply paths for the oxidant 68, the fuel 70, and the exhaust gas 66; an oxidant compressor, a fuel pump, or any components in the EG processing system 54; any components of the SEGR gas turbine system 52, or any combination thereof. The controlled components may adjust (e.g., increase, decrease, or maintain) the flow rates, temperatures, pressures, or percentages (e.g., equivalence ratio) of the oxidant 68, the fuel 70, and the exhaust gas 66 that combust within the SEGR gas turbine system 52. The controlled components also may include one or more gas treatment systems, such as catalyst units (e.g., oxidation catalyst units), supplies for the catalyst units (e.g., oxidation fuel, heat, electricity, etc.), gas purification and/or separation units (e.g., solvent based separators, absorbers, flash tanks, etc.), and filtration units. The gas treatment systems may help reduce various exhaust emissions along the exhaust recirculation path 110, a vent path (e.g., exhausted into the atmosphere), or an extraction path to the EG supply system 78.

In certain embodiments, the control system 100 may analyze the feedback 130 and control one or more components to maintain or reduce emissions levels (e.g., concentration levels in the exhaust gas 42, 60, 95) to a target range, such as less than approximately 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, or 10000 parts per million by volume (ppmv). These target ranges may be the same or different for each of the exhaust emissions, e.g., concentration levels of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, hydrogen, oxygen, unburnt hydrocarbons, and other products of incomplete combustion. For example, depending on the equivalence ratio, the control system 100 may selectively control exhaust emissions (e.g., concentration levels) of oxidant (e.g., oxygen) within a target range of less than approximately 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 250, 500, 750, or 1000 ppmv; carbon monoxide (CO) within a target range of less than approximately 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2500, or 5000 ppmv; and nitrogen oxides (NO_(X)) within a target range of less than approximately 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, or 500 ppmv. In certain embodiments operating with a substantially stoichiometric equivalence ratio, the control system 100 may selectively control exhaust emissions (e.g., concentration levels) of oxidant (e.g., oxygen) within a target range of less than approximately 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, or 100 ppmv; and carbon monoxide (CO) within a target range of less than approximately 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, or 5000 ppmv. In certain embodiments operating with a fuel-lean equivalence ratio (e.g., between approximately 0.95 to 1.0), the control system 100 may selectively control exhaust emissions (e.g., concentration levels) of oxidant (e.g., oxygen) within a target range of less than approximately 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400, or 1500 ppmv; carbon monoxide (CO) within a target range of less than approximately 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 150, or 200 ppmv; and nitrogen oxides (e.g., NO_(X)) within a target range of less than approximately 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, or 400 ppmv. The foregoing target ranges are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosed embodiments.

The control system 100 also may be coupled to a local interface 132 and a remote interface 134. For example, the local interface 132 may include a computer workstation disposed on-site at the turbine-based service system 14 and/or the hydrocarbon production system 12. In contrast, the remote interface 134 may include a computer workstation disposed off-site from the turbine-based service system 14 and the hydrocarbon production system 12, such as through an internet connection. These interfaces 132 and 134 facilitate monitoring and control of the turbine-based service system 14, such as through one or more graphical displays of sensor feedback 130, operational parameters, and so forth.

Again, as noted above, the controller 118 includes a variety of controls 124, 126, and 128 to facilitate control of the turbine-based service system 14. The steam turbine control 124 may receive the sensor feedback 130 and output control commands to facilitate operation of the steam turbine 104. For example, the steam turbine control 124 may receive the sensor feedback 130 from the HRSG 56, the machinery 106, temperature and pressure sensors along a path of the steam 62, temperature and pressure sensors along a path of the water 108, and various sensors indicative of the mechanical power 72 and the electrical power 74. Likewise, the SEGR gas turbine system control 126 may receive sensor feedback 130 from one or more sensors disposed along the SEGR gas turbine system 52, the machinery 106, the EG processing system 54, or any combination thereof. For example, the sensor feedback 130 may be obtained from temperature sensors, pressure sensors, clearance sensors, vibration sensors, flame sensors, fuel composition sensors, exhaust gas composition sensors, or any combination thereof, disposed within or external to the SEGR gas turbine system 52. Finally, the machinery control 128 may receive sensor feedback 130 from various sensors associated with the mechanical power 72 and the electrical power 74, as well as sensors disposed within the machinery 106. Each of these controls 124, 126, and 128 uses the sensor feedback 130 to improve operation of the turbine-based service system 14.

In the illustrated embodiment, the SEGR gas turbine system control 126 may execute instructions to control the quantity and quality of the exhaust gas 42, 60, 95 in the EG processing system 54, the EG supply system 78, the hydrocarbon production system 12, and/or the other systems 84. For example, the SEGR gas turbine system control 126 may maintain a level of oxidant (e.g., oxygen) and/or unburnt fuel in the exhaust gas 60 below a threshold suitable for use with the exhaust gas injection EOR system 112. In certain embodiments, the threshold levels may be less than 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 percent of oxidant (e.g., oxygen) and/or unburnt fuel by volume of the exhaust gas 42, 60; or the threshold levels of oxidant (e.g., oxygen) and/or unburnt fuel (and other exhaust emissions) may be less than approximately 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, or 5000 parts per million by volume (ppmv) in the exhaust gas 42, 60. By further example, in order to achieve these low levels of oxidant (e.g., oxygen) and/or unburnt fuel, the SEGR gas turbine system control 126 may maintain an equivalence ratio for combustion in the SEGR gas turbine system 52 between approximately 0.95 and approximately 1.05. The SEGR gas turbine system control 126 also may control the EG extraction system 80 and the EG treatment system 82 to maintain the temperature, pressure, flow rate, and gas composition of the exhaust gas 42, 60, 95 within suitable ranges for the exhaust gas injection EOR system 112, the pipeline 86, the storage tank 88, and the carbon sequestration system 90. As discussed above, the EG treatment system 82 may be controlled to purify and/or separate the exhaust gas 42 into one or more gas streams 95, such as the CO₂ rich, N₂ lean stream 96, the intermediate concentration CO₂, N₂ stream 97, and the CO₂ lean, N₂ rich stream 98. In addition to controls for the exhaust gas 42, 60, and 95, the controls 124, 126, and 128 may execute one or more instructions to maintain the mechanical power 72 within a suitable power range, or maintain the electrical power 74 within a suitable frequency and power range.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of embodiment of the system 10, further illustrating details of the SEGR gas turbine system 52 for use with the hydrocarbon production system 12 and/or other systems 84. In the illustrated embodiment, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 includes a gas turbine engine 150 coupled to the EG processing system 54. The illustrated gas turbine engine 150 includes a compressor section 152, a combustor section 154, and an expander section or turbine section 156. The compressor section 152 includes one or more exhaust gas compressors or compressor stages 158, such as 1 to 20 stages of rotary compressor blades disposed in a series arrangement. Likewise, the combustor section 154 includes one or more combustors 160, such as 1 to 20 combustors 160 distributed circumferentially about a rotational axis 162 of the SEGR gas turbine system 52. Furthermore, each combustor 160 may include one or more fuel nozzles 164 configured to inject the exhaust gas 66, the oxidant 68, and/or the fuel 70. For example, a head end portion 166 of each combustor 160 may house 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or more fuel nozzles 164, which may inject streams or mixtures of the exhaust gas 66, the oxidant 68, and/or the fuel 70 into a combustion portion 168 (e.g., combustion chamber) of the combustor 160.

The fuel nozzles 164 may include any combination of premix fuel nozzles 164 (e.g., configured to premix the oxidant 68 and fuel 70 for generation of an oxidant/fuel premix flame) and/or diffusion fuel nozzles 164 (e.g., configured to inject separate flows of the oxidant 68 and fuel 70 for generation of an oxidant/fuel diffusion flame). Embodiments of the premix fuel nozzles 164 may include swirl vanes, mixing chambers, or other features to internally mix the oxidant 68 and fuel 70 within the nozzles 164, prior to injection and combustion in the combustion chamber 168. The premix fuel nozzles 164 also may receive at least some partially mixed oxidant 68 and fuel 70. In certain embodiments, each diffusion fuel nozzle 164 may isolate flows of the oxidant 68 and the fuel 70 until the point of injection, while also isolating flows of one or more diluents (e.g., the exhaust gas 66, steam, nitrogen, or another inert gas) until the point of injection. In other embodiments, each diffusion fuel nozzle 164 may isolate flows of the oxidant 68 and the fuel 70 until the point of injection, while partially mixing one or more diluents (e.g., the exhaust gas 66, steam, nitrogen, or another inert gas) with the oxidant 68 and/or the fuel 70 prior to the point of injection. In addition, one or more diluents (e.g., the exhaust gas 66, steam, nitrogen, or another inert gas) may be injected into the combustor (e.g., into the hot products of combustion) either at or downstream from the combustion zone, thereby helping to reduce the temperature of the hot products of combustion and reduce emissions of NO_(X) (e.g., NO and NO₂). Regardless of the type of fuel nozzle 164, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 may be controlled to provide substantially stoichiometric combustion of the oxidant 68 and fuel 70.

In diffusion combustion embodiments using the diffusion fuel nozzles 164, the fuel 70 and oxidant 68 generally do not mix upstream from the diffusion flame, but rather the fuel 70 and oxidant 68 mix and react directly at the flame surface and/or the flame surface exists at the location of mixing between the fuel 70 and oxidant 68. In particular, the fuel 70 and oxidant 68 separately approach the flame surface (or diffusion boundary/interface), and then diffuse (e.g., via molecular and viscous diffusion) along the flame surface (or diffusion boundary/interface) to generate the diffusion flame. It is noteworthy that the fuel 70 and oxidant 68 may be at a substantially stoichiometric ratio along this flame surface (or diffusion boundary/interface), which may result in a greater flame temperature (e.g., a peak flame temperature) along this flame surface. The stoichiometric fuel/oxidant ratio generally results in a greater flame temperature (e.g., a peak flame temperature), as compared with a fuel-lean or fuel-rich fuel/oxidant ratio. As a result, the diffusion flame may be substantially more stable than a premix flame, because the diffusion of fuel 70 and oxidant 68 helps to maintain a stoichiometric ratio (and greater temperature) along the flame surface. Although greater flame temperatures can also lead to greater exhaust emissions, such as NO_(X) emissions, the disclosed embodiments use one or more diluents to help control the temperature and emissions while still avoiding any premixing of the fuel 70 and oxidant 68. For example, the disclosed embodiments may introduce one or more diluents separate from the fuel 70 and oxidant 68 (e.g., after the point of combustion and/or downstream from the diffusion flame), thereby helping to reduce the temperature and reduce the emissions (e.g., NO_(X) emissions) produced by the diffusion flame.

In operation, as illustrated, the compressor section 152 receives and compresses the exhaust gas 66 from the EG processing system 54, and outputs a compressed exhaust gas 170 to each of the combustors 160 in the combustor section 154. Upon combustion of the fuel 60, oxidant 68, and exhaust gas 170 within each combustor 160, additional exhaust gas or products of combustion 172 (i.e., combustion gas) is routed into the turbine section 156. Similar to the compressor section 152, the turbine section 156 includes one or more turbines or turbine stages 174, which may include a series of rotary turbine blades. These turbine blades are then driven by the products of combustion 172 generated in the combustor section 154, thereby driving rotation of a shaft 176 coupled to the machinery 106. Again, the machinery 106 may include a variety of equipment coupled to either end of the SEGR gas turbine system 52, such as machinery 106, 178 coupled to the turbine section 156 and/or machinery 106, 180 coupled to the compressor section 152. In certain embodiments, the machinery 106, 178, 180 may include one or more electrical generators, oxidant compressors for the oxidant 68, fuel pumps for the fuel 70, gear boxes, or additional drives (e.g. steam turbine 104, electrical motor, etc.) coupled to the SEGR gas turbine system 52. Non-limiting examples are discussed in further detail below with reference to TABLE 1. As illustrated, the turbine section 156 outputs the exhaust gas 60 to recirculate along the exhaust recirculation path 110 from an exhaust outlet 182 of the turbine section 156 to an exhaust inlet 184 into the compressor section 152. Along the exhaust recirculation path 110, the exhaust gas 60 passes through the EG processing system 54 (e.g., the HRSG 56 and/or the EGR system 58) as discussed in detail above.

Again, each combustor 160 in the combustor section 154 receives, mixes, and stoichiometrically combusts the compressed exhaust gas 170, the oxidant 68, and the fuel 70 to produce the additional exhaust gas or products of combustion 172 to drive the turbine section 156. In certain embodiments, the oxidant 68 is compressed by an oxidant compression system 186, such as a main oxidant compression (MOC) system (e.g., a main air compression (MAC) system) having one or more oxidant compressors (MOCs). The oxidant compression system 186 includes an oxidant compressor 188 coupled to a drive 190. For example, the drive 190 may include an electric motor, a combustion engine, or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the drive 190 may be a turbine engine, such as the gas turbine engine 150. Accordingly, the oxidant compression system 186 may be an integral part of the machinery 106. In other words, the compressor 188 may be directly or indirectly driven by the mechanical power 72 supplied by the shaft 176 of the gas turbine engine 150. In such an embodiment, the drive 190 may be excluded, because the compressor 188 relies on the power output from the turbine engine 150. However, in certain embodiments employing more than one oxidant compressor is employed, a first oxidant compressor (e.g., a low pressure (LP) oxidant compressor) may be driven by the drive 190 while the shaft 176 drives a second oxidant compressor (e.g., a high pressure (HP) oxidant compressor), or vice versa. For example, in another embodiment, the HP MOC is driven by the drive 190 and the LP oxidant compressor is driven by the shaft 176. In the illustrated embodiment, the oxidant compression system 186 is separate from the machinery 106. In each of these embodiments, the compression system 186 compresses and supplies the oxidant 68 to the fuel nozzles 164 and the combustors 160. Accordingly, some or all of the machinery 106, 178, 180 may be configured to increase the operational efficiency of the compression system 186 (e.g., the compressor 188 and/or additional compressors).

The variety of components of the machinery 106, indicated by element numbers 106A, 106B, 106C, 106D, 106E, and 106F, may be disposed along the line of the shaft 176 and/or parallel to the line of the shaft 176 in one or more series arrangements, parallel arrangements, or any combination of series and parallel arrangements. For example, the machinery 106, 178, 180 (e.g., 106A through 106F) may include any series and/or parallel arrangement, in any order, of: one or more gearboxes (e.g., parallel shaft, epicyclic gearboxes), one or more compressors (e.g., oxidant compressors, booster compressors such as EG booster compressors), one or more power generation units (e.g., electrical generators), one or more drives (e.g., steam turbine engines, electrical motors), heat exchange units (e.g., direct or indirect heat exchangers), clutches, or any combination thereof. The compressors may include axial compressors, radial or centrifugal compressors, or any combination thereof, each having one or more compression stages. Regarding the heat exchangers, direct heat exchangers may include spray coolers (e.g., spray intercoolers), which inject a liquid spray into a gas flow (e.g., oxidant flow) for direct cooling of the gas flow. Indirect heat exchangers may include at least one wall (e.g., a shell and tube heat exchanger) separating first and second flows, such as a fluid flow (e.g., oxidant flow) separated from a coolant flow (e.g., water, air, refrigerant, or any other liquid or gas coolant), wherein the coolant flow transfers heat from the fluid flow without any direct contact. Examples of indirect heat exchangers include intercooler heat exchangers and heat recovery units, such as heat recovery steam generators. The heat exchangers also may include heaters. As discussed in further detail below, each of these machinery components may be used in various combinations as indicated by the non-limiting examples set forth in TABLE 1.

Generally, the machinery 106, 178, 180 may be configured to increase the efficiency of the compression system 186 by, for example, adjusting operational speeds of one or more oxidant compressors in the system 186, facilitating compression of the oxidant 68 through cooling, and/or extraction of surplus power. The disclosed embodiments are intended to include any and all permutations of the foregoing components in the machinery 106, 178, 180 in series and parallel arrangements, wherein one, more than one, all, or none of the components derive power from the shaft 176. As illustrated below, TABLE 1 depicts some non-limiting examples of arrangements of the machinery 106, 178, 180 disposed proximate and/or coupled to the compressor and turbine sections 152, 156.

TABLE 1 106A 106B 106C 106D 106E 106F MOC GEN MOC GBX GEN LP HP GEN MOC MOC HP GBX LP GEN MOC MOC MOC GBX GEN MOC HP GBX GEN LP MOC MOC MOC GBX GEN MOC GBX DRV DRV GBX LP HP GBX GEN MOC MOC DRV GBX HP LP GEN MOC MOC HP GBX LP GEN MOC CLR MOC HP GBX LP GBX GEN MOC CLR MOC HP GBX LP GEN MOC HTR MOC STGN MOC GEN DRV MOC DRV GEN DRV MOC GEN DRV CLU MOC GEN DRV CLU MOC GBX GEN

As illustrated above in TABLE 1, a cooling unit is represented as CLR, a clutch is represented as CLU, a drive is represented by DRV, a gearbox is represented as GBX, a generator is represented by GEN, a heating unit is represented by HTR, a main oxidant compressor unit is represented by MOC, with low pressure and high pressure variants being represented as LP MOC and HP MOC, respectively, and a steam generator unit is represented as STGN. Although TABLE 1 illustrates the machinery 106, 178, 180 in sequence toward the compressor section 152 or the turbine section 156, TABLE 1 is also intended to cover the reverse sequence of the machinery 106, 178, 180. In TABLE 1, any cell including two or more components is intended to cover a parallel arrangement of the components. TABLE 1 is not intended to exclude any non-illustrated permutations of the machinery 106, 178, 180. These components of the machinery 106, 178, 180 may enable feedback control of temperature, pressure, and flow rate of the oxidant 68 sent to the gas turbine engine 150. As discussed in further detail below, the oxidant 68 and the fuel 70 may be supplied to the gas turbine engine 150 at locations specifically selected to facilitate isolation and extraction of the compressed exhaust gas 170 without any oxidant 68 or fuel 70 degrading the quality of the exhaust gas 170.

The EG supply system 78, as illustrated in FIG. 3, is disposed between the gas turbine engine 150 and the target systems (e.g., the hydrocarbon production system 12 and the other systems 84). In particular, the EG supply system 78, e.g., the EG extraction system (EGES) 80), may be coupled to the gas turbine engine 150 at one or more extraction points 76 along the compressor section 152, the combustor section 154, and/or the turbine section 156. For example, the extraction points 76 may be located between adjacent compressor stages, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 interstage extraction points 76 between compressor stages. Each of these interstage extraction points 76 provides a different temperature and pressure of the extracted exhaust gas 42. Similarly, the extraction points 76 may be located between adjacent turbine stages, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 interstage extraction points 76 between turbine stages. Each of these interstage extraction points 76 provides a different temperature and pressure of the extracted exhaust gas 42. By further example, the extraction points 76 may be located at a multitude of locations throughout the combustor section 154, which may provide different temperatures, pressures, flow rates, and gas compositions. Each of these extraction points 76 may include an EG extraction conduit, one or more valves, sensors, and controls, which may be used to selectively control the flow of the extracted exhaust gas 42 to the EG supply system 78.

The extracted exhaust gas 42, which is distributed by the EG supply system 78, has a controlled composition suitable for the target systems (e.g., the hydrocarbon production system 12 and the other systems 84). For example, at each of these extraction points 76, the exhaust gas 170 may be substantially isolated from injection points (or flows) of the oxidant 68 and the fuel 70. In other words, the EG supply system 78 may be specifically designed to extract the exhaust gas 170 from the gas turbine engine 150 without any added oxidant 68 or fuel 70. Furthermore, in view of the stoichiometric combustion in each of the combustors 160, the extracted exhaust gas 42 may be substantially free of oxygen and fuel. The EG supply system 78 may route the extracted exhaust gas 42 directly or indirectly to the hydrocarbon production system 12 and/or other systems 84 for use in various processes, such as enhanced oil recovery, carbon sequestration, storage, or transport to an offsite location. However, in certain embodiments, the EG supply system 78 includes the EG treatment system (EGTS) 82 for further treatment of the exhaust gas 42, prior to use with the target systems. For example, the EG treatment system 82 may purify and/or separate the exhaust gas 42 into one or more streams 95, such as the CO₂ rich, N₂ lean stream 96, the intermediate concentration CO₂, N₂ stream 97, and the CO₂ lean, N₂ rich stream 98. These treated exhaust gas streams 95 may be used individually, or in any combination, with the hydrocarbon production system 12 and the other systems 84 (e.g., the pipeline 86, the storage tank 88, and the carbon sequestration system 90).

Similar to the exhaust gas treatments performed in the EG supply system 78, the EG processing system 54 may include a plurality of exhaust gas (EG) treatment components 192, such as indicated by element numbers 194, 196, 198, 200, 202, 204, 206, 208, and 210. These EG treatment components 192 (e.g., 194 through 210) may be disposed along the exhaust recirculation path 110 in one or more series arrangements, parallel arrangements, or any combination of series and parallel arrangements. For example, the EG treatment components 192 (e.g., 194 through 210) may include any series and/or parallel arrangement, in any order, of: one or more heat exchangers (e.g., heat recovery units such as heat recovery steam generators, condensers, coolers, or heaters), catalyst systems (e.g., oxidation catalyst systems), particulate and/or water removal systems (e.g., inertial separators, coalescing filters, water impermeable filters, and other filters), chemical injection systems, solvent based treatment systems (e.g., absorbers, flash tanks, etc.), carbon capture systems, gas separation systems, gas purification systems, and/or a solvent based treatment system, or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the catalyst systems may include an oxidation catalyst, a carbon monoxide reduction catalyst, a nitrogen oxides reduction catalyst, an aluminum oxide, a zirconium oxide, a silicone oxide, a titanium oxide, a platinum oxide, a palladium oxide, a cobalt oxide, or a mixed metal oxide, or a combination thereof. The disclosed embodiments are intended to include any and all permutations of the foregoing components 192 in series and parallel arrangements. As illustrated below, TABLE 2 depicts some non-limiting examples of arrangements of the components 192 along the exhaust recirculation path 110.

TABLE 2 194 196 198 200 202 204 206 208 210 CU HRU BB MRU PRU CU HRU HRU BB MRU PRU DIL CU HRSG HRSG BB MRU PRU OCU HRU OCU HRU OCU BB MRU PRU HRU HRU BB MRU PRU CU CU HRSG HRSG BB MRU PRU DIL OCU OCU OCU HRSG OCU HRSG OCU BB MRU PRU DIL OCU OCU OCU HRSG HRSG BB COND INER WFIL CFIL DIL ST ST OCU OCU BB COND INER FIL DIL HRSG HRSG ST ST OCU HRSG HRSG OCU BB MRU MRU PRU PRU ST ST HE WFIL INER FIL COND CFIL CU HRU HRU HRU BB MRU PRU PRU DIL COND COND COND HE INER FIL COND CFIL WFIL

As illustrated above in TABLE 2, a catalyst unit is represented by CU, an oxidation catalyst unit is represented by OCU, a booster blower is represented by BB, a heat exchanger is represented by HX, a heat recovery unit is represented by HRU, a heat recovery steam generator is represented by HRSG, a condenser is represented by COND, a steam turbine is represented by ST, a particulate removal unit is represented by PRU, a moisture removal unit is represented by MRU, a filter is represented by FIL, a coalescing filter is represented by CFIL, a water impermeable filter is represented by WFIL, an inertial separator is represented by INER, and a diluent supply system (e.g., steam, nitrogen, or other inert gas) is represented by DIL. Although TABLE 2 illustrates the components 192 in sequence from the exhaust outlet 182 of the turbine section 156 toward the exhaust inlet 184 of the compressor section 152, TABLE 2 is also intended to cover the reverse sequence of the illustrated components 192. In TABLE 2, any cell including two or more components is intended to cover an integrated unit with the components, a parallel arrangement of the components, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, in context of TABLE 2, the HRU, the HRSG, and the COND are examples of the HE; the HRSG is an example of the HRU; the COND, WFIL, and CFIL are examples of the WRU; the INER, FIL, WFIL, and CFIL are examples of the PRU; and the WFIL and CFIL are examples of the FIL. Again, TABLE 2 is not intended to exclude any non-illustrated permutations of the components 192. In certain embodiments, the illustrated components 192 (e.g., 194 through 210) may be partially or completed integrated within the HRSG 56, the EGR system 58, or any combination thereof. These EG treatment components 192 may enable feedback control of temperature, pressure, flow rate, and gas composition, while also removing moisture and particulates from the exhaust gas 60. Furthermore, the treated exhaust gas 60 may be extracted at one or more extraction points 76 for use in the EG supply system 78 and/or recirculated to the exhaust inlet 184 of the compressor section 152.

As the treated, recirculated exhaust gas 66 passes through the compressor section 152, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 may bleed off a portion of the compressed exhaust gas along one or more lines 212 (e.g., bleed conduits or bypass conduits). Each line 212 may route the exhaust gas into one or more heat exchangers 214 (e.g., cooling units), thereby cooling the exhaust gas for recirculation back into the SEGR gas turbine system 52. For example, after passing through the heat exchanger 214, a portion of the cooled exhaust gas may be routed to the turbine section 156 along line 212 for cooling and/or sealing of the turbine casing, turbine shrouds, bearings, and other components. In such an embodiment, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 does not route any oxidant 68 (or other potential contaminants) through the turbine section 156 for cooling and/or sealing purposes, and thus any leakage of the cooled exhaust gas will not contaminate the hot products of combustion (e.g., working exhaust gas) flowing through and driving the turbine stages of the turbine section 156. By further example, after passing through the heat exchanger 214, a portion of the cooled exhaust gas may be routed along line 216 (e.g., return conduit) to an upstream compressor stage of the compressor section 152, thereby improving the efficiency of compression by the compressor section 152. In such an embodiment, the heat exchanger 214 may be configured as an interstage cooling unit for the compressor section 152. In this manner, the cooled exhaust gas helps to increase the operational efficiency of the SEGR gas turbine system 52, while simultaneously helping to maintain the purity of the exhaust gas (e.g., substantially free of oxidant and fuel).

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of an operational process 220 of the system 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. In certain embodiments, the process 220 may be a computer implemented process, which accesses one or more instructions stored on the memory 122 and executes the instructions on the processor 120 of the controller 118 shown in FIG. 2. For example, each step in the process 220 may include instructions executable by the controller 118 of the control system 100 described with reference to FIG. 2.

The process 220 may begin by initiating a startup mode of the SEGR gas turbine system 52 of FIGS. 1-3, as indicated by block 222. For example, the startup mode may involve a gradual ramp up of the SEGR gas turbine system 52 to maintain thermal gradients, vibration, and clearance (e.g., between rotating and stationary parts) within acceptable thresholds. For example, during the startup mode 222, the process 220 may begin to supply a compressed oxidant 68 to the combustors 160 and the fuel nozzles 164 of the combustor section 154, as indicated by block 224. In certain embodiments, the compressed oxidant may include a compressed air, oxygen, oxygen-enriched air, oxygen-reduced air, oxygen-nitrogen mixtures, or any combination thereof. For example, the oxidant 68 may be compressed by the oxidant compression system 186 illustrated in FIG. 3. The process 220 also may begin to supply fuel to the combustors 160 and the fuel nozzles 164 during the startup mode 222, as indicated by block 226. During the startup mode 222, the process 220 also may begin to supply exhaust gas (as available) to the combustors 160 and the fuel nozzles 164, as indicated by block 228. For example, the fuel nozzles 164 may produce one or more diffusion flames, premix flames, or a combination of diffusion and premix flames. During the startup mode 222, the exhaust gas 60 being generated by the gas turbine engine 156 may be insufficient or unstable in quantity and/or quality. Accordingly, during the startup mode, the process 220 may supply the exhaust gas 66 from one or more storage units (e.g., storage tank 88), the pipeline 86, other SEGR gas turbine systems 52, or other exhaust gas sources.

The process 220 may then combust a mixture of the compressed oxidant, fuel, and exhaust gas in the combustors 160 to produce hot combustion gas 172, as indicated by block 230 by the one or more diffusion flames, premix flames, or a combination of diffusion and premix flames. In particular, the process 220 may be controlled by the control system 100 of FIG. 2 to facilitate stoichiometric combustion (e.g., stoichiometric diffusion combustion, premix combustion, or both) of the mixture in the combustors 160 of the combustor section 154. However, during the startup mode 222, it may be particularly difficult to maintain stoichiometric combustion of the mixture (and thus low levels of oxidant and unburnt fuel may be present in the hot combustion gas 172). As a result, in the startup mode 222, the hot combustion gas 172 may have greater amounts of residual oxidant 68 and/or fuel 70 than during a steady state mode as discussed in further detail below. For this reason, the process 220 may execute one or more control instructions to reduce or eliminate the residual oxidant 68 and/or fuel 70 in the hot combustion gas 172 during the startup mode.

The process 220 then drives the turbine section 156 with the hot combustion gas 172, as indicated by block 232. For example, the hot combustion gas 172 may drive one or more turbine stages 174 disposed within the turbine section 156. Downstream of the turbine section 156, the process 220 may treat the exhaust gas 60 from the final turbine stage 174, as indicated by block 234. For example, the exhaust gas treatment 234 may include filtration, catalytic reaction of any residual oxidant 68 and/or fuel 70, chemical treatment, heat recovery with the HRSG 56, and so forth. The process 220 may also recirculate at least some of the exhaust gas 60 back to the compressor section 152 of the SEGR gas turbine system 52, as indicated by block 236. For example, the exhaust gas recirculation 236 may involve passage through the exhaust recirculation path 110 having the EG processing system 54 as illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.

In turn, the recirculated exhaust gas 66 may be compressed in the compressor section 152, as indicated by block 238. For example, the SEGR gas turbine system 52 may sequentially compress the recirculated exhaust gas 66 in one or more compressor stages 158 of the compressor section 152. Subsequently, the compressed exhaust gas 170 may be supplied to the combustors 160 and fuel nozzles 164, as indicated by block 228. Steps 230, 232, 234, 236, and 238 may then repeat, until the process 220 eventually transitions to a steady state mode, as indicated by block 240. Upon the transition 240, the process 220 may continue to perform the steps 224 through 238, but may also begin to extract the exhaust gas 42 via the EG supply system 78, as indicated by block 242. For example, the exhaust gas 42 may be extracted from one or more extraction points 76 along the compressor section 152, the combustor section 154, and the turbine section 156 as indicated in FIG. 3. In turn, the process 220 may supply the extracted exhaust gas 42 from the EG supply system 78 to the hydrocarbon production system 12, as indicated by block 244. The hydrocarbon production system 12 may then inject the exhaust gas 42 into the earth 32 for enhanced oil recovery, as indicated by block 246. For example, the extracted exhaust gas 42 may be used by the exhaust gas injection EOR system 112 of the EOR system 18 illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an embodiment of the SEGR gas turbine system 52 having, among other things, a carbon black production controller 250 configured to control the production and recovery of a carbon black supply 252. The carbon black production controller 250, in some embodiments, may be a part of the overall control system 100 and the controller 118, or may be separate from the system. In particular, a carbon black recovery system 254 may be configured to filter the carbon black supply 252 from the exhaust gas 60 originating from the SEGR gas turbine system 52. As an example, the carbon black recovery system 254 may be disposed along the EG recirculation path 110 such as within the EGR system 58 of the EG processing system 54.

The carbon black recovery system 254 may include one or more filters and/or particulate removal units specifically configured to remove and/or filter carbon black from the exhaust gas 60, as further described with respect to FIG. 6. Generally, the carbon black recovery system 254 may include an input 256 configured to intake the discharged exhaust gas 60 and may include an output 258 configured to output the recirculated exhaust gas 66. A portion of the discharged exhaust gas 60 input into the carbon black recovery system 254 may comprise carbon black, while the recirculated exhaust gas 66 exiting the carbon black recovery system 254 may be substantially free of carbon black (e.g., have less than 100 ppm, less than 50 ppm, or less than 10 ppm carbon black). The carbon black recovered from the discharged exhaust gas 60 may be output from the carbon black recovery system 254 as the carbon black supply 252 using processes controlled by the carbon black production controller 250.

In the illustrated embodiment, the carbon black recovery system 254 may be disposed within the EGR system 58 along the exhaust gas recirculation path 110 downstream of blower 260 and upstream of cooler 262. The blower 260 may include a number of blower vanes configured to regulate and control the flow rate of the discharged exhaust gas 60 along the exhaust recirculation path 110. Further, the cooler 262 may be configured to cool the recirculated exhaust gas 66 with a cooling water, such as with a water supply system configured to supply the cooling water to cool the recirculated exhaust gas 66. In certain embodiments, the cooler 262 may operate in conjunction with, or may be a component of, the HRSG 56. In these embodiments, the HRSG 56 may include two HRSG 56 elements disposed on opposite sides of the carbon black recovery system 254 (e.g., a upstream element disposed upstream of the carbon black recovery system 254 and a downstream component disposed downstream of the carbon black recovery system 254). However, generally, the carbon black recovery system 254 may be disposed anywhere along the exhaust recirculation path 110 and may have any arrangement with respect to the other components of the EGR system 58. As a further example, in certain embodiments, the EGR system 58 may include a one or more blowers 260, coolers 262, carbon black recovery systems 254, filters, particulate removal units, or other components etc. Further, these components may be arranged in a serial and/or parallel arrangement with one another. For example, a plurality of carbon black recovery systems 254 (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or more) may have a parallel arrangement within the EGR system 58 along the exhaust recirculation path 110 between the blower 260 and the cooler 262, and any manner in which those components may be fluidly connected is considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

As noted above, the illustrated embodiment includes the carbon black production controller 250 (e.g., controller 250) configured to control the production and recovery of the carbon black supply 252. Specifically, the carbon black production controller 250 may regulate and control the process of producing the carbon black within the discharged exhaust gas 60 by controlling the operating parameters of the SEGR gas turbine system 52. Further, the carbon black production controller 250 may control and monitor the carbon black recovery system 254 in order to recover (e.g., filter) the carbon black from the discharged exhaust gas 60, and produce the carbon black supply 252. In certain embodiments, the carbon black production controller 250 may implement the production and recovery of carbon black as a computer implemented process, which accesses one or more instructions stored on the memory 122 and executes the instructions on the processor 120 of the carbon black production controller 250 shown in FIG. 5. Further, in certain embodiments, the carbon black production controller 250 may include an interface 132 coupled to one or more input/output controls 264. The local interface 132 may be a local human machine interface that is coupled to a computer workstation disposed on-site. The input/output controls 264 may be utilized by an operator to provide instructions, values, ranges, thresholds, limits, or variables that control or regulate the operation of the SEGR gas turbine system 52 or the carbon black recovery system 254.

Specifically, in certain embodiments, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to monitor and receive feedback from one or more sensors 266 related to production rate, the production quantity, or various physical characteristics (e.g., particle size, particle shape) of the carbon black supply 252. The sensors 266 may include flow sensors, pressure sensors, level sensors, temperature sensors, carbon black composition sensors, clearance sensors, particle size analysis instrumentation, and so forth. For example, the sensors 266 may be disposed along a carbon black outlet path 268 routing the carbon black recovered by the carbon black recovery system 254 to the carbon black supply 252, and may be configured to determine the information relating to the carbon black supply 252 noted above. As a further example, the sensors 266 may be disposed within or coupled to the carbon black supply 252. Indeed, in certain embodiments, the carbon black supply 252 may be a storage unit (e.g., storage tank, reservoir, etc.) having one or more quantity or level sensors. In these embodiments, the sensors 266 may be configured to provide sensor feedback related to the amount of carbon black within the carbon black supply 252, or sensor feedback related to when the quantity of carbon black falls outside of a certain threshold, range, or level. In this manner, the operator may monitor and/or regulate (via the carbon black production controller 250 and the one or more sensors 266) the amount of carbon black produced and/or stored, the production rate of the carbon black filtered at the carbon black recovery system 254, or the physical characteristics of the carbon black. Further, the operator may utilize the input/output controls 264 to provide desired values, quantities, thresholds, or limits for the carbon black production and recovery process, as further described in detail below.

In certain embodiments, using the feedback provided by the one or more sensors 266 and/or based on the inputs provided by the operator via the input/output controls 264, the carbon black production controller 250 may regulate and control various parameters of the carbon black production and/or recovery process. For example, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to regulate the operating conditions of the SEGR gas turbine system 52 to control various parameters (e.g., quantity, particle size, particle shape, composition, etc.) of the carbon black produced. In certain embodiments, the carbon black production controller 250 may control the equivalence ratio of the SEGR gas turbine system 52, the fuel composition of the fuel 70, or a combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to regulate the equivalence ratio at which the SEGR gas turbine system 52 operates in order to increase or decrease the quantity of carbon black produced and output by the SEGR gas turbine system 52 within the discharged exhaust gas 60. In these situations, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to increase or decrease the equivalence ratio within the range configured to provide substantially stoichiometric combustion of the fuel 70 and the oxidant 68 (e.g., between approximately 0.95 to approximately 1.05, between approximately 0.95 to approximately 1.0, between approximately 1.0 to approximately 1.05, or substantially at 1.0). For example, in order to increase the amount of the carbon black supply 252, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to increase the equivalence ratio while still operating within the range for stoichiometric combustion (e.g., an adjustment of ϕ from 0.95 to 0.98). Likewise, to decrease the amount of carbon black supply 252, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to decrease the equivalence ratio while still operating within the range for stoichiometric combustion (e.g., an adjustment of P from 0.98 to 0.95).

Adjusting the equivalence ratio may involve, among other things, adjusting (e.g., increasing, decreasing, etc.) the flow of the oxidant 68 and/or the fuel 70 into the SEGR gas turbine system 52. In certain embodiments, adjusting the equivalence ratio may involve, among other things, maintaining the flow of the oxidant 68 and/or the fuel 70 into the SEGR gas turbine system 52. Accordingly, the carbon black production controller 250 may analyze the feedback received from the sensors 266 to monitor the recovery of the carbon black and the characteristics of the carbon black supply 252 and/or determine the equivalence ratio, and then control one or more components of the SEGR gas turbine system 52 to adjust the recovery process and/or the characteristics of the recovered carbon black supply 252. Further, the controlled components may include any of the components illustrated and described with respect to the drawings, including but not limited to, the intake flow of the oxidant 68, the fuel 70, 66. The controlled components may adjust (e.g., increase, decrease, or maintain) the flow rates, temperatures, pressures, or percentages (e.g., equivalence ratio) of the oxidant 68, the fuel 70, 66 that combust within the SEGR gas turbine system 52.

In certain embodiments, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to regulate the fuel composition of the fuel 70 provided to the SEGR gas turbine system 52 in order to vary parameters of the carbon black produced and output by the SEGR gas turbine system 52 within the discharged exhaust gas 60. For example, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to adjust the composition of the fuel 70 in order to increase or decrease the average hydrocarbon number of the fuel 70 provided to the SEGR gas turbine system 52. Specifically, increasing the average hydrocarbon number of the fuel 70 provided to the SEGR gas turbine system 52 may increase the particle size of the carbon black supply 252. Likewise, decreasing the average hydrocarbon number of the fuel 70 provided to the SEGR gas turbine system 52 may decrease the particle size of the carbon black supply 252. In particular, the amount of hydrocarbons within the fuel 70 may be adjusted, for example, by adjusting the ratio of a natural gas supply 270 to a hydrocarbon supply 272 (e.g., a supply of an ethane, a propane, a butane, a methane, a naphtha, or any combination thereof) within the fuel 70. For example, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to adjust from a first ratio of a first fuel having a first average hydrocarbon number to a second ratio of a second fuel having a second average hydrocarbon number. In certain embodiments, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to regulate one or more flow regulation devices 274 (e.g., one or more valves) to adjust the composition the fuel 70 by regulating the flow of the natural gas 270 and the hydrocarbon supply 274 to the fuel 70. Furthermore, it should be noted that in certain embodiments, increasing or decreasing the average hydrocarbon number of the fuel 70 provided to the SEGR gas turbine system 52 may increase or decrease the quantity of the carbon black supply 252, respectively. In this manner, the average hydrocarbon number of the fuel 70 may affect both the production quantity of the carbon black supply and/or the particle size of the carbon black supply.

As noted above, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to control the equivalence ratio, the fuel composition, or both, in order to produce and recover carbon black with the desired parameters (e.g., quantity, particle size, particle shape, etc.). For example, in certain embodiments, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to maintain the equivalence ratio at a particular value (e.g., at substantially 1.0) while adjusting the fuel composition of the fuel 70. In these situations, the carbon black production controller 250 may maintain the quantity of the carbon black supply 252, while increasing or decreasing the particle size or the particle shape of the carbon black supply 252. However, in other embodiments, because the particle size may change, this might also affect the overall particle count (but not necessarily weight) of the carbon black. In certain embodiments, the particle size of the carbon black may be determined or selected by an operator based on various parameters or constraints provided by the market or industry. For example, it may be beneficial to produce carbon black having an average particle size of approximately 1 micron, between approximately 0.5 and 1 microns, between approximately 0.8 and 1 microns, between approximately 1 and 1.2 microns, between approximately 1.2 and 1.5 microns, and so forth. In particular, when determining or selecting the particle size of the carbon black supply 252, a mean or average particle size may be utilized.

Utilizing the approaches above, it may be possible to obtain average particle sizes for the carbon black that are useful as a starting material for a number of industries. One common way to denote particle size, and, more specifically, particle size distribution, is the use of D_(x)=y, where y is a diameter value (e.g., in microns, μm), and x represents the percentage of particles having a diameter that is equal to or less than x. For example, a particle size distribution D₂₀ of 1 micron means that 20% of the particles in a sample have a diameter of equal to or less than 1 micron. Similarly, a particle size distribution D₅₀ of 1 micron means that 50% of the particles in a sample have a diameter of equal to or less than 1 micron. These values can be measured, for example, according to ASTM-D1921. Accordingly, comparing these values between two samples, such as between carbon black produced using a first fuel composition and carbon black produced using a second, different fuel composition, can provide a useful measurement for determining the extent to which adjustments to the fuel composition of the fuel 70 might affect the carbon black. Generally, the approaches described herein may generate carbon black where the particle size distribution D₅₀ is between approximately 10 microns and approximately 0.05 microns, between approximately 0.5 and 1 microns, between approximately 0.8 and 1 microns, between approximately 1 and 1.2 microns, between approximately 1.2 and 1.5 microns, and so forth.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of an embodiment of the carbon black recovery system 254 of FIG. 5, further illustrating a plurality of filters 280 and a hopper 281 configured to collect filtered carbon black 282. In particular, in the illustrated embodiment, the carbon black recovery system 252 includes a baghouse filter 278 the is configured to extract the filtered carbon black 282 from the exhaust gas 60 originating at the SEGR gas turbine system 52. Specifically, the baghouse filer 278 may be configured to receive the discharged exhaust gas 60 at the input 256 from the blower 260, wherein the discharged exhaust gas 60 includes a quantity of carbon black to be filtered. In operation, the discharged exhaust gas 60 may permeate the baghouse filter 278 and the one or more filters 280. Each of the one or more filters 280 may be a long cylindrical bag or tube made of a filter medium (e.g., woven material, felted material, filter cartridge, etc.). The discharged exhaust gas 60 may be drawn through each filter 280, and a layer 284 of the filtered carbon black 282 may accumulate on the external surfaces of the filters 280. In this manner, the discharged exhaust gas 60 may be filtered, and the resulting recirculated exhaust gas 66 may be routed out of baghouse filter 278 and to another component of the EGR system 58, such as the cooler 262.

To isolate the carbon black, in certain embodiments, a mechanical shaker may be utilized to shake each of the filters 280, causing vibrations that shake off the layer 284 of the filtered carbon black 282. The hopper 281 may be configured to collect the filtered carbon black 282, which may be routed out of the carbon black recovery system 254 and into the carbon black supply 252 via the outlet path 268. In certain embodiments, a compressed air 286 may be injected into a top end 288 of the baghouse filter 278, and routed inside each filter 280. The compressed air 286 may travel through the length of the filter 280, causing each filter 280 to flex and displace the outer layer 284 of the filtered carbon black 282. As noted above, the hopper 281 may be configured to collect the filtered carbon black 282, which may be routed out of the carbon black recovery system 254 and into the carbon black supply 252 via the outlet path 268. In certain embodiments, the compressed air 286 may be provided as short and quick bursts, allowing the hopper 281 of the carbon black recovery system 254 to continuously operate as the exhaust gas 60 is routed through the system 254.

To help illustrate the manner in which the system 52 may be operated in accordance with present embodiments, FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a process 290 utilized by the carbon black production controller 250 for producing and recovering a quantity of the carbon black supply 252 from the discharged exhaust gas 60 of FIG. 5. In particular, the process 290 may be a computer-implemented process, which accesses one or more instructions stored on the memory 122 and executes the instructions on the processor 120 of the carbon black production controller 250 shown in FIG. 5. For example, each step in the process 290 may include instructions executable by the carbon black production controller 250 as described with reference to FIG. 5.

The process 290 may begin by or otherwise include determining a current quantity of the carbon black supply (e.g., via sensor feedback from the one or more sensors 266) (block 292). For example, in some situations, the sensors 260 may include a flow sensor configured to determine the amount of the carbon black supply 252 produced based on a flow rate of the filtered carbon black 282 routed along the outlet path 268. As a further example, in some situations, a level sensor disposed within the carbon black supply 252 (e.g., storage tank or reservoir) may be configured to determine the amount of filtered carbon black 282 produced and stored within one or more storage units.

In certain embodiments, the process 290 includes determining a desired quantity of carbon black supply (block 294). For example, an operator may provide a desired quantity of carbon black supply 252 via one or more of the input/output controls 264. In some situations, based on previously input values or quantities and based on the sensor feedback received, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to determine a desired quantity of carbon black supply 252. Further, it should be noted that the process 290 may include determining and/or utilizing other parameters relating to the quantity of the carbon black produced, such as a desired production rate, a desired speed of production, a desired quantity of carbon black supply over a period of time, etc.

Accordingly, based on the desired quantity of carbon black supply, the process 290 may include the carbon black production controller 250 determining (e.g., increase, decrease, etc.) a new equivalence ratio and/or a new fuel composition (e.g., a ratio of the natural gas supply 270 to the hydrocarbon supply 272) (block 296). Further, in some situations, the process 290 may include the carbon black production controller 250 determining that the equivalence ratio and/or fuel composition (e.g., a ratio of the natural gas supply 270 to the hydrocarbon supply 272) should be maintained. For example, if the measured quantity of the carbon black supply 252 is less than the desired quantity, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to increase the equivalence ratio within the stoichiometric range of operation and/or increase the amount of hydrocarbon supply 272 within the fuel 70. Likewise, if the measured quantity of the carbon black supply 252 is greater than the desired quantity, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to decrease the equivalence ratio within the stoichiometric range of operation and/or decrease the amount the amount of hydrocarbon supply 272 within the fuel 70. It should be noted that if the measured quantity is the same as the desired quantity, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to maintain the operational parameters of the SEGR gas turbine 52.

Further, based on changes to the equivalence ratio and/or the fuel composition, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to adjust the operating parameters of the SEGR gas turbine system 52 (block 298). For example, the intake flow of the oxidant 68, the fuel 70, the recirculated exhaust gas 66, the natural gas supply 270, or the hydrocarbon supply 272 may be adjusted based on the changes (if any) to the equivalence ratio and/or the fuel composition. Specifically, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to influence the intake of the SEGR gas turbine 52. As noted above, the SEGR gas turbine 52 is configured to receive, mix, and stoichiometrically combust the exhaust gas 66, the oxidant 68 and the fuel 70 in the presence of the exhaust gas 66 and discharge the exhaust gas 60. Further, based on the intake flow of the exhaust gas 66, the oxidant 68, and the fuel 70, the exhaust gas 60 discharged by the SEGR gas turbine 52 may include the desired quantity of carbon black. In this manner, the process 290 may include filtering the discharged exhaust gas 60 via the carbon black recovery system 254 to produce and recover the desired quantity of carbon black supply 252 (block 300).

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a process 302 utilized by the carbon black production controller 250 for producing and recovering a particular particle size of the carbon black supply 252 from the discharged exhaust gas 60, as illustrated in FIG. 5. It should be noted that the process 302 may be configured to work in conjunction with the process 290. In particular, the process 302 may be a computer-implemented process, which accesses one or more instructions stored on the memory 122 and executes the instructions on the processor 120 of the carbon black production controller 250 shown in FIG. 5. For example, each step in the process 302 may include instructions executable by the carbon black production controller 250 as described with reference to FIG. 5.

The process 302 may begin by or otherwise include determining a current particle size of the carbon black supply 252 via sensor feedback from the one or more sensors 266 (block 304). It should be noted that the particle size determined or detected may be an average or mean particle size, or a particular size distribution, of a particular quantity of the carbon black supply 252.

In certain embodiments, the process 302 includes determining a desired particle size of the carbon black supply (block 306). It should be noted, however, that the process 302 may include determining any measure relating to size, like average particle size, mean particle size, particle size distribution, etc. For example, an operator may provide a desired particle size of the carbon black supply 252 via the one or more input/output controls 264. In some situations, based on previously input values or sizes and/or based on the sensor feedback received, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to determine a desired particle size of carbon black supply 252.

Accordingly, based on the desired particle size of carbon black, the process 302 may include determining a new fuel composition via the carbon black production controller 250 (block 308). For example, if the measured mean particle size of the carbon black supply 252 is less than the desired mean particle size, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to increase the amount the amount of hydrocarbon supply 272 within the fuel 70. Likewise, if the measured mean particle size of the carbon black supply 252 is greater than the desired mean particle size, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to decrease the amount the amount of hydrocarbon supply 272 within the fuel 70. It should be noted that if the measured mean particle size is the same as the desired mean particle size, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to maintain the operational parameters of the SEGR gas turbine 52. Further, it should be noted that in certain embodiments, the process 302 may include determining a new equivalence ratio via the carbon black production controller 250 based on the desired particle size of carbon black.

Further, based on changes to the equivalence ratio and/or the fuel composition, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to adjust the operating parameters of the SEGR gas turbine system 52 (block 310). For example, the intake flow of the oxidant 68, the fuel 70, the recirculated exhaust gas 66, the natural gas supply 270, or the hydrocarbon supply 272 may be adjusted based on the changes (if any) to the equivalence ratio and/or the fuel composition. As noted above, the SEGR gas turbine 52 is configured to receive, mix, and stoichiometrically combust the exhaust gas 66, the oxidant 68, and the fuel 70 and discharge the exhaust gas 60. Further, based on the intake flow of the exhaust gas 66, the oxidant 68, and the fuel 70, the exhaust gas 60 discharged by the SEGR gas turbine 52 may include the carbon black having the desired particle size. To collect the carbon black, the process 302 may include filtering the discharged exhaust gas 60 via the carbon black recovery system 254 to generate and recover the desired mean particle size of carbon black supply 252 (block 300).

Either or both of the processes 290, 302 described above may be integrated into an overall control scheme performed by the control system 100. For example, FIG. 9 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a process 314 for operating SEGR gas turbine system 52 using the carbon black production controller 250 and the carbon black recovery system 254 of FIG. 5. In certain embodiments, the process 314 may be a computer implemented process, which accesses one or more instructions stored on the memory 122 and executes the instructions on the processor 120 of the controller 110 shown in FIG. 2. For example, each step in the process 220 may include instructions executable by the controller 110 described with reference to FIG. 2, respectively. It should be noted that in certain embodiments, the controller 110 includes the carbon black production controller 250.

In certain embodiments, the process 314 may begin by supplying the fuel 70, the oxidant 68, and/or the recirculated exhaust gas 66 into the SEGR gas turbine system 52 (block 316). Specifically, the fuel 70, the oxidant 68, and/or the recirculated exhaust gas 66 may be utilized to produce the carbon black supply 252.

The process 314 may then combust a mixture of the compressed oxidant, fuel, and exhaust gas in the combustors 160 to produce hot combustion gas 172 (block 318). Specifically, a portion of the combustion gas 172 may include the carbon black supply 252. In particular, the process 314 may be controlled by the control system 100 of FIG. 2 to facilitate stoichiometric combustion (e.g., stoichiometric diffusion combustion, premix combustion, or both) of the mixture in the combustors 160 of the combustor section 154.

The process 314 then drives the turbine section 156 with the hot combustion gas 172 (block 320). For example, the hot combustion gas 172 may drive one or more turbine stages 174 disposed within the turbine section 156.

Downstream of the turbine section 156, the process 314 may treat the exhaust gas 60 from the final turbine stage 174 (block 322). In certain embodiments, the treatment process of the exhaust gas 60 may involve processing the exhaust gas 60 through the EG processing system 54, which includes the EGR system 58. For example, the exhaust gas 60 may be routed through the exhaust recirculation path 110 having the EGR system 58. The EGR system 58 further includes the carbon black recovery system 254, which may be configured to extract the carbon black from the exhaust gas 60.

For example, in certain embodiments, the process 314 includes extracting the carbon black from the exhaust gas 60 via the carbon black recovery system 254 disposed within the EGR system 58 (block 324). The extracted carbon black may be routed out of the carbon black recovery system 254 and into the carbon black supply 252.

Further, once the carbon black (and/or other corrosive or undesired components) are removed from the exhaust gas 60, the recirculated exhaust gas 66 is routed to the compressor section 152 of the SEGR gas turbine system 326 (block 326).

In turn, the recirculated exhaust gas 66 may be compressed in the compressor section 152 (block 328). In certain embodiments, steps 316, 318, 320, 322, 324, and 326 may then repeat in a feedback loop 330. For example, in certain situations, the carbon black production controller 250 may be configured to adjust an equivalence ratio and/or a fuel composition, thereby varying the supply of the fuel 70 (e.g., the ratio of the natural gas supply 270 to hydrocarbon supply 272), the oxidant 68, and/or the recirculated exhaust gas 66 provided to the SEGR gas turbine system (block 316). In this manner, the carbon black supply extracted from the exhaust gas 60 may include desired parameters (e.g., quantity, size of particles, etc.).

As described above, the disclosed embodiments relate to controlling operating parameters of the SEGR gas turbine system 52 (e.g., a fuel composition or an equivalence ratio) to control the production and recovery of the carbon black supply 252. For example, in certain embodiments, the carbon black production controller 250 may adjust the equivalence ratio of the SEGR gas turbine system 52 and/or the fuel composition of the fuel 70 provided to the SEGR gas turbine system 52 to produce and recover a particular quantity of carbon black. For example, increasing the equivalence ratio while still operating within the range for stoichiometric combustion (e.g., equivalence ratio of approximately 0.95 to approximately 1.05) may produce a greater quantity of carbon black filtered from the exhaust gas 60. Further, in certain embodiments, the carbon black production controller 250 may adjust the equivalence ratio of the SEGR gas turbine system 52 and/or the fuel composition of the fuel 70 provided to the SEGR gas turbine system to produce and recover carbon black with a particular set of physical characteristics (e.g., mean particle size). For example, increasing the amount of hydrocarbons within the fuel 70 may increase the mean or average particle size of the carbon black supply 254 filtered from the exhaust gas 60. Further, in certain embodiments, increasing the amount and/or ratios of higher hydrocarbons within the fuel 70 may increase the amount and/or quantity of the carbon black supply 252 produced. In some situations, the amount of hydrocarbons within the fuel composition may be increased by increasing the ratio of the hydrocarbon supply 274 (e.g., a supply of ethane, propane, butane, etc.) to the natural gas supply 272.

ADDITIONAL DESCRIPTION

The present embodiments provide a system and method for gas turbine engines. It should be noted that any one or a combination of the features described above may be utilized in any suitable combination. Indeed, all permutations of such combinations are presently contemplated. By way of example, the following clauses are offered as further description of the present disclosure:

Embodiment 1. A gas turbine system having a turbine combustor, a turbine, an exhaust as compressor, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, a carbon black recovery system, and a controller is provided. The turbine combustor configured to combust an oxidant and a fuel to produce combustion products. The turbine is driven by the combustion products from the turbine combustor. The exhaust gas compressor driven by the turbine via a shaft, and the exhaust gas compressor is configured to compress and supply an exhaust gas to the turbine combustor as an exhaust gas diluent. The exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system is configured to recirculate the exhaust gas along an exhaust recirculation path from the turbine to the exhaust gas compressor. The carbon black recovery system disposed within the EGR system along the exhaust recirculation path, and is configured to extract carbon black from the exhaust gas to produce a carbon black supply. The controller is configured to monitor and control operating parameters of the gas turbine system. The controller includes one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine readable media collectively storing one or more sets of instructions and one or more processing devices configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to monitor data corresponding to a parameter of the carbon black. The one or more processing devices are also configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to adjust, based on the data, the fuel provided to the turbine combustor while maintaining a ratio of the fuel to the oxidant within a predetermined range to adjust the parameter of the carbon black.

Embodiment 2. The system of embodiment 1, wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to perform equivalence ratio control based on the data corresponding to the parameter of the carbon black. Performing equivalence ratio control comprises determining a new equivalence ratio from an initial equivalence ratio, wherein the new equivalence ratio falls within an equivalence ratio range encompassing the initial equivalence ratio.

Embodiment 3. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the initial equivalence ratio and the new equivalence ratio are between 0.95 and 1.05.

Embodiment 4. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the equivalence ratio control is configured to adjust the fuel flow rate provided to the turbine combustor to adjust an amount of the carbon black produced within the turbine combustor.

Embodiment 5. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to increase the amount of carbon black produced within the turbine combustor using the new equivalence ratio, and the new equivalence ratio is greater than the initial equivalence ratio.

Embodiment 6. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to decrease the amount of carbon black produced within the turbine combustor using the new equivalence ratio, and the new equivalence ratio is less than the initial equivalence ratio.

Embodiment 7. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to perform fuel composition control based on the data corresponding to the parameter of the carbon black, and wherein performing fuel composition control comprises determining a new composition of the fuel.

Embodiment 8. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the new composition of fuel comprises one or more ratios of one or more different hydrocarbon supplies.

Embodiment 9. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the fuel composition control comprises controlling one or more fuel flow control devices disposed along a fuel supply path to adjust a ratio of a first hydrocarbon supply flow to a second hydrocarbon supply flow within the fuel.

Embodiment 10. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the parameter of the carbon black comprises a measure relating to particle size.

Embodiment 11. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the particle size increases if the second hydrocarbon supply flow is greater than the first hydrocarbon supply flow, and wherein the particle size decreases if the second hydrocarbon supply flow is less than the first hydrocarbon supply flow.

Embodiment 12. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein a carbon black supply quantity increases if the second hydrocarbon supply flow is greater than the first hydrocarbon supply flow, and wherein the carbon black supply quantity decreases if the second hydrocarbon supply flow is less than the first hydrocarbon supply flow.

Embodiment 13. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the carbon black recovery system is disposed downstream of a blower configured to regulate an exhaust gas flow along the exhaust recirculation path.

Embodiment 14. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the carbon black recovery system is disposed upstream of a cooler configured to regulate a temperature of the exhaust gas along the exhaust recirculation path.

Embodiment 15. The system of any preceding embodiment, comprising one or more sensors configured to detect and provide the data corresponding to the parameter of the carbon black.

Embodiment 16. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the carbon black recovery system comprises a baghouse filter configured to extract the first and second supplies of carbon black from the exhaust gas.

Embodiment 17. A gas turbine system having a turbine combustor, a turbine, an exhaust as compressor, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, a carbon black recovery system, and a controller is provided. The turbine combustor configured to combust an oxidant and a fuel to produce combustion products. The turbine is driven by the combustion products from the turbine combustor. The exhaust gas compressor driven by the turbine via a shaft, and the exhaust gas compressor is configured to compress and supply an exhaust gas to the turbine combustor as an exhaust gas diluent. The exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system is configured to recirculate the exhaust gas along an exhaust recirculation path from the turbine to the exhaust gas compressor. The carbon black recovery system disposed along the exhaust recirculation path, and the carbon black recovery system is configured to extract carbon black from the exhaust gas to produce a carbon black supply. The controller is configured to monitor and control operating parameters of the gas turbine system. The controller includes one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine readable media collectively storing one or more sets of instructions and one or more processing devices configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to monitor data corresponding to a parameter of the carbon black. The one or more sets of instructions and one or more processing devices are also configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to adjust, based on the data, a composition of the fuel provided to the turbine combustor while maintaining a ratio of the new composition of fuel to the oxidant within a predetermined range to adjust the parameter of the carbon black.

Embodiment 18. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the first parameter is a measure of a particle size of the carbon black.

Embodiment 19. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to perform fuel composition control based on the data corresponding to the parameter of the carbon black. Performing fuel composition control comprises determining a new composition of the fuel having a new ratio of a first hydrocarbon supply to a second hydrocarbon supply within the fuel.

Embodiment 20. The system of any preceding embodiment, wherein the particle size of the carbon black increases if the second hydrocarbon supply is greater than the first hydrocarbon supply, and wherein the particle size of the carbon black decreases if the second hydrocarbon supply is less than the first hydrocarbon supply.

Embodiment 21. A method includes combusting a fuel and an oxidant to generate combustion products. The method also includes driving a turbine with the combustion products and discharging an exhaust gas. The method also includes extracting a supply of a carbon black from the exhaust gas to generate a clean exhaust gas and recirculating and compressing the clean exhaust gas. The method also includes combusting the clean exhaust gas. The combusting includes using the clean exhaust gas as an exhaust gas diluent. The method also includes monitoring data corresponding to a parameter of the carbon black and adjusting a fuel flow rate and an oxidant flow rate while maintaining a ratio of the fuel to the oxidant within a predetermined range to adjust the parameter of the carbon black.

Embodiment 22. The method of any preceding embodiment, comprising determining a new equivalence ratio from an initial equivalence ratio, wherein the new equivalence ratio falls within an equivalence ratio range encompassing the initial equivalence ratio.

Embodiment 23. The method of any preceding embodiment, comprising adjusting the fuel flow rate and the oxidant flow rate based on the new equivalence ratio to adjust an amount of the carbon black produced within the turbine combustor.

Embodiment 24. The method of any preceding embodiment, comprising determining a new composition of the fuel by adjusting a ratio of a first hydrocarbon supply to a second hydrocarbon supply within the fuel.

Embodiment 25. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the parameter of the carbon black comprises a measure relating to particle size, a carbon black supply quantity, or a combination thereof.

This written description uses examples to disclose various embodiments of the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A gas turbine system, comprising: a turbine combustor configured to combust an oxidant and a fuel to produce combustion products; a turbine driven by the combustion products from the turbine combustor; an exhaust gas compressor driven by the turbine via a shaft, wherein the exhaust gas compressor is configured to compress and supply an exhaust gas to the turbine combustor as an exhaust gas diluent; an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, wherein the EGR system is configured to recirculate the exhaust gas along an exhaust recirculation path from the turbine to the exhaust gas compressor; a carbon black recovery system disposed within the EGR system along the exhaust recirculation path, wherein the carbon black recovery system is configured to extract carbon black from the exhaust gas to produce a carbon black supply; and a controller configured to monitor and control operating parameters of the gas turbine system, comprising: one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine readable media collectively storing one or more sets of instructions; and one or more processing devices configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to: monitor data corresponding to a parameter of the carbon black; adjust, based on the data, the fuel provided to the turbine combustor to adjust the parameter of the carbon black while maintaining an equivalence ratio of the fuel and the oxidant within a predetermined range for stoichiometric combustion, wherein the predetermined range for stoichiometric combustion is between 0.95 to 1.05.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to perform equivalence ratio control based on the data corresponding to the parameter of the carbon black, and wherein performing equivalence ratio control comprises determining a new equivalence ratio from an initial equivalence ratio, wherein the new equivalence ratio and the initial equivalence ratio are within the predetermined range for stoichiometric combustion.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the equivalence ratio control is configured to adjust the fuel flow rate provided to the turbine combustor to adjust an amount of the carbon black produced within the turbine combustor.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to increase the amount of carbon black produced within the turbine combustor using the new equivalence ratio, and the new equivalence ratio is greater than the initial equivalence ratio.
 5. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to decrease the amount of carbon black produced within the turbine combustor using the new equivalence ratio, and the new equivalence ratio is less than the initial equivalence ratio.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to perform fuel composition control based on the data corresponding to the parameter of the carbon black, and wherein performing fuel composition control comprises determining a new composition of the fuel.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the new composition of fuel comprises one or more ratios of one or more different hydrocarbon supplies.
 8. The system of claim 6, wherein the fuel composition control comprises controlling one or more fuel flow control devices disposed along a fuel supply path to adjust a ratio of a first hydrocarbon supply flow to a second hydrocarbon supply flow within the fuel.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the parameter of the carbon black comprises a measure relating to particle size.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the particle size increases if the second hydrocarbon supply flow is greater than the first hydrocarbon supply flow, and wherein the particle size decreases if the second hydrocarbon supply flow is less than the first hydrocarbon supply flow.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein a carbon black supply quantity increases if the second hydrocarbon supply flow is greater than the first hydrocarbon supply flow, and wherein the carbon black supply quantity decreases if the second hydrocarbon supply flow is less than the first hydrocarbon supply flow.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the carbon black recovery system is disposed downstream of a blower configured to regulate an exhaust gas flow along the exhaust recirculation path.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the carbon black recovery system is disposed upstream of a cooler configured to regulate a temperature of the exhaust gas along the exhaust recirculation path.
 14. The system of claim 1, comprising one or more sensors configured to detect and provide the data corresponding to the parameter of the carbon black.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein the carbon black recovery system comprises a baghouse filter configured to extract the carbon black supply from the exhaust gas.
 16. A system, comprising: a gas turbine system, comprising: a turbine combustor; a turbine driven by combustion products from the turbine combustor; an exhaust gas compressor driven by the turbine, wherein the exhaust gas compressor is configured to compress and supply an exhaust gas to the turbine combustor; an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, wherein the EGR system is configured to recirculate the exhaust gas along an exhaust recirculation path from the turbine to the exhaust gas compressor; a carbon black recovery system disposed along the exhaust recirculation path, wherein the carbon black recovery system is configured to extract carbon black from the exhaust gas to produce a carbon black supply; and a controller, comprising: one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine readable media collectively storing one or more sets of instructions; and one or more processing devices configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to: monitor data corresponding to a parameter of the carbon black; and adjust, based on the data, a composition of a fuel provided to the turbine combustor to adjust the parameter of the carbon black while maintaining an equivalence ratio of the fuel and an oxidant within a predetermined range for stoichiometric combustion, wherein the predetermined range for stoichiometric combustion is between 0.95 to 1.05.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the parameter of the carbon black is a measure of a particle size of the carbon black.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more processing devices are configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to perform fuel composition control based on the data corresponding to the parameter of the carbon black, and wherein performing fuel composition control comprises determining a new composition of the fuel having a new ratio of a first hydrocarbon supply to a second hydrocarbon supply within the fuel.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the particle size of the carbon black increases if the second hydrocarbon supply is greater than the first hydrocarbon supply, and wherein the particle size of the carbon black decreases if the second hydrocarbon supply is less than the first hydrocarbon supply.
 20. The system of claim 16, wherein the carbon black recovery system comprises a baghouse filter configured to extract the carbon black supply from the exhaust gas.
 21. A method, comprising: combusting a fuel and an oxidant with an equivalence ratio within a predetermined range for stoichiometric combustion to generate combustion products, wherein the predetermined range for stoichiometric combustion is between 0.95 to 1.05; driving a turbine with the combustion products; discharging an exhaust gas; extracting a supply of a carbon black from the exhaust gas to generate a clean exhaust gas; recirculating and compressing the clean exhaust gas; combusting the clean exhaust gas, wherein combusting comprises using the clean exhaust gas as an exhaust gas diluent; monitoring, via a controller, data corresponding to a parameter of the carbon black; and adjusting, via the controller, a fuel flow rate and an oxidant flow rate to adjust the parameter of the carbon black while maintaining the equivalence ratio of the fuel and the oxidant within the predetermined range for stoichiometric combustion, wherein the controller comprises: one or more tangible, non-transitory, machine readable media collectively storing one or more sets of instructions; and one or more processing devices configured to execute the one or more sets of instructions to monitor the data and adjust the fuel flow rate and the oxidant flow rate.
 22. The method of claim 21, comprising determining, via the controller, a new equivalence ratio from an initial equivalence ratio, wherein the new equivalence ratio and the initial equivalence ratio are within the predetermined range for stoichiometric combustion, wherein the one or more sets of instructions comprise instructions to determine the new equivalence ratio from the initial equivalence ratio.
 23. The method of claim 22, comprising adjusting the fuel flow rate and the oxidant flow rate based on the new equivalence ratio to adjust an amount of the carbon black produced within the turbine combustor.
 24. The method of claim 21, comprising determining, via the controller, a new composition of the fuel by adjusting a ratio of a first hydrocarbon supply to a second hydrocarbon supply within the fuel, wherein the one or more sets of instructions comprise instructions to determine the new composition of the fuel.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the parameter of the carbon black comprises a measure relating to particle size, a carbon black supply quantity, or a combination thereof. 